>)  o <»«’  r\ 

I ^ 


TIBET 


Written  and  published  for  the  members  of  The  Newark 
Museum  Association,  to  introduce  them  to  an  Exhi- 
bition of  the  Museum’s  Collection  of  Tibetan 
Objects,  in  the  Public  Library  Building, 

Dec.  6 to  Jan.  31,  1921-1922,  and 
sent  to  all  the  3500  members. 


The  meagerness  of  authentic  information  concerning  the  interior  of 
Tibet  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  population  of  its  463,000  square 
miles  is  variously  estimated  at  from  1,500,000  to  6,000,000.  The  only  census 
ever  taken  of  the  country  was  that  conducted  by  the  Chinese  nearly  two 
hundred  years  ago,  showing  316,000  lamas  (monks)  and  635,000  laity. 
For  a more  detailed  map  of  this  region,  see  the  National  Geographic 
Society’s  “Map  of  Asia,”  published  as  a supplement  with  the  May 
Geographic. 

The  National  Geographic  Society  has  kindly  permitted  us  to  use  this 
map  and  its  legend,  which  appeared  in  the  National  Geographic  Magazine 
for  September,  1921,  with  an  article  by  Dr.  Shelton. — J.  C.  D. 


Note  the  great  rivers  of  Asia  that  flow  from  the  Tibetan  Plateau  or  from 
the  mountains  that  surround  it. 


TIBET 


THE  COUNTRY,  CLIMATE,  PEOPLE,  CUSTOMS 
RELIGION,  RESOURCES 


By 

LOUISE  CONNOLLY 

Educational  Adviser  to  Newark’s  Museum  and  Library 


NEWARK,  N.  J. 

THE  NEWARK  MUSEUM  ASSOCIATION 
1921 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/tibetcountryclimOOconn 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Table  of  Contents v 

List  of  Illustrations vii 

Preface  ix-xi 

I.  Dr.  Shelton’s  Life  in  Outline 1 

II.  Topography  and  Climate.  .. 2 

III.  Transport  and  Travel 5 

IV.  The  People  6 

V.  Religion  12 

VI.  Houses  and  Tents  ... 18 

VII.  Farms  and  Domestic  Animals 22 

VIII.  Wild  Animals.  Minerals 24 

IX.  Food  and  Eating.  .. 27 

X.  Manners  and  Customs 28 

XL  Family  Life 29 

XII.  Trade  and  Manufacture 30 

XIII.  Art  and  Literature.  .. 32 

XIV.  Miscellany  33 

Appendix  37 


V 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Map  of  Tibet  and  border  countries..... .....Frontispiece 

1.  Map  of  the  world  showing  latitude  and  longitude  of  Tibet  2 

2.  A Tibetan  valley 3 

3.  Map  showing  relation  of  Tibet  to  China  and  India 4 

4.  The  “Living  Buddha”  and  his  wife 5 

5.  Map  comparing  Tibet  with  England  in  size 7 

6.  Pau  San  Yea 8 

7.  Map  showing  routes  of  Tibetan  explorers 10 

8.  Road  building  in  Tibet 13 

9.  Man  carrying  a pack.. 14 

10.  A coracle  or  boat 16 

11.  An  aqueduct  for  irrigating  purposes. 17 

12.  Tibetan  criminal  beggars. 18 

13.  Vases  for  holy  water  or  wine 19 

14.  Silver  symbol  of  authority 20 

15.  Ceremonial  objects  of  worship 21 

16.  Silver  butter  lamp 23 

17.  Handwrought  ewer  of  iron 24 

18.  Prayer  wheels 25 

19.  Two  pages  from  Tibetan  scriptures 26 

20.  “Oh,  the  Jewel  in  the  Lotus!” 29 

21.  Title  page  from  the  Kanjur 31 

22.  House  building 32 

23.  A Tibetan  house 33 

24.  The  Lamasery  at  Derge 34 

25.  The  Lamasery  at  Peyhen 35 

26.  A Tibetan  house 36 


PREFACE 


Tibet  is  far  from  Newark,  in  distance,  in  climate,  in  manners  and 
customs,  in  religion,  in  fact  in  every  aspect  of  the  two.  Why,  then,  intro- 
duce Tibet  to  Newark  by  a display  in  Newark’s  Museum  of  objects  illustra- 
tive of  Tibetan  people  and  manners? 

The  series  of  incidents  which  brought  about  the  acquisition  by  Newark’s 
Museum  of  several  hundred  Tibetan  objects,  as  told  in  the  first  chapter  of 
the  story  which  follows,  explains  the  presence  of  the  objects  and  gives  an 
answer  to  the  question,  “Why?” 

This  unusual  and,  for  America,  rather  unique  collection  having  been 
acquired,  it  should  be  made  attractive  and  useful  to  its  owners,  the  people 
of  Newark — and  here  the  question  is,  “How?” 

The  search  for  a response  to  this  query  has  been  for  the  Museum  staff 
a matter  of  large  moment  for  many  months.  Here  is  what  we  have  done 
by  way  of  that  answer : 

We  merged  the  things  received  last  year  with  those  received  ten  years 
ago.  We  engaged  Dr.  Shelton  himself  to  go  over  the  objects  and  dictate  to 
a stenographer  the  more  important  facts  about  each  one.  What  he  thus 
gave  us  we  placed  with  like  facts  which  he  gave  us  in  1912,  published  at 
that  time  in  a pamphlet  called  “The  Tibet  Collection.”  This  pamphlet  is 
sent  to  members  on  request. 

The  Library  added  largely  by  purchase  to  its  books  on  Tibet  and  to  its 
maps  of  the  country,  and  brought  all  together  for  the  Museum’s  use.  Of 
both  of  these  the  Library  compiled  and  printed  lists,  in  several  parts,  for 
distribution  to  all  who  ask  for  them. 

Our  Educational  Adviser,  Miss  Louise  Connolly,  was  then  asked  to 
prepare  an  account  of  Tibet’s  topography,  climate  and  people,  as  compact 
of  information  as  she  could  make  it.  The  result  of  her  study  of  scores  of 
books  on  the  country  and  of  many  maps,  added  to  what  she  gathered  from 
interviews  with  Dr.  Shelton,  from  correspondence  with  Mrs.  Shelton  and 
others,  and  from  interviews  with  persons  who  have  worked  or  traveled  in 
Tibet,  is  found  in  this  pamphlet. 

We  then  asked  Miss  E.  A.  Grady,  acting  head  of  the  Library’s  Lend- 
ing Department,  to  compile  from  a few  encyclopaedias  a brief  answer  in 
simple  language  to  the  question:  “Who  are  the  Tibetans;  that  is,  what  is 
their  origin  and  how  are  they  related  to  the  peoples  about  them?”  and, 
“What  has  been  the  influence  on  the  movements  of  Asian  peoples  of  the 
presence,  in  central  Asia,  on  a high  plateau,  of  a race  long  hostile  to  all 
visitation  and  inspection  by  outsiders?” 

Her  answers  form  a brief  Appendix  to  Miss  Connolly’s  story. 

To  illustrate  this  story  we  prepared  three  rough,  outline  maps;  secured 
a map,  the  frontispiece,  from  the  National  Geographic  Society;  and  made 
cuts  from  14  of  the  several  hundred  photographs  which  we  acquired  from 
Dr.  Shelton,  choosing  such  as  would  reproduce  fairly  well  and  add  to  the 
interest  of  the  story. 


IX. 


X 


PREFACE 


We  caused  to  be  made  by  a member  of  the  Museum  staff  a large 
outline  map  of  southeastern  Asia,  12'  x 12'  in  size.  This  hangs  in  the 
Library’s  central  court. 

From  notes  given  us  by  Dr.  Shelton,  from  a study  of  Tibetan  books, 
and  from  interviews  and  correspondence  with  persons  experienced  in 
Tibetan  affairs.  Miss  Connolly  compiled  a catalog  of  the  objects  which 
form  the  exhibition. 

This  catalog  does  not  include  the  pictures,  chiefly  enlargements  of  Dr. 
Shelton’s  photogi’aphs,  and  the  maps  shown  in  the  Exhibit;  but  they  are 
all  accompanied,  on  the  walls,  by  explanatory  labels. 

The  catalog  has  been  printed  in  simple  form.  It  is  available  to  all 
visitors  and  is  sent  free  to  members  of  the  Museum  Association  on  request. 

Copies  of  the  catalog,  so  printed  that  the  several  entries  are  more 
easily  read  than  they  are  in  the  ordinary  edition,  have  been  used  to  form 
labels  for  the  objects. 

A special  effort  has  been  made  to  add  descriptive  and  explanatory  notes 
to  the  many  Temple  paintings  which  form  the  most  striking  feature  of  the 
collection.  For  these,  which  are  attached  to  the  paintings,  we  are  chiefly 
indebted  to  Mr.  Albert  E.  Andre,  a Lutheran  missionary  acquainted  with 
Tibetan  religion.  To  some  of  his  notes  Miss  Connolly  has  added  helpful 
comments,  signed  L.  C. 

Several  months  ago  “The  Contemporary  of  Newark,’’  the  most  impor- 
tant organization  of  women  in  New  Jersey,  having  about  1,500  members 
voted  to  make  this  Tibetan  Exhibit  its  point  of  contact  with  the  Museum 
for  the  coming  winter.  For  several  years  this  organization  has  generously 
taken  under  its  auspices,  and  done  much  to  make  widely  known  and  widely 
appreciated  at  least  one  important  Museum  Exhibition;  and  this  year  its 
choice  fell,  happily  for  the  Museum’s  work,  on  the  Exhibit  of  Tibet. 

From  Tibet,  perched  on  the  world’s  highest  tablelands  and  set  behind 
its  highest  mountains,  hostile  in  climate  to  all  dwellers  in  the  temperate 
zone,  and  with  a people  long  trained  to  repel  all  visitors  from  this  far 
country — to  the  men  of  factories  and  commerce  of  our  very  modern  and 
entirely  accessible  Newark,  is  a long  and  difficult  journey.  But,  after  all, 
the  east  is  east  and  the  west  is  west;  and  the  pictures,  taken  at  first  hand 
by  a man  of  honor  who  lives  only  that  he  may  help  to  make  Tibet  a better 
home  for  its  people — these  pictures  of  Tibetan  life,  and  the  maps  of  all 
Asia  that  accompany  them,  and  the  many  curious  bits  of  the  apparatus  of 
Tibetan  daily  life,  all  give  to  the  observer  far  more  than  a mere  hint  of 
the  far  east,  and  far  more  than  a hint  of  the  infinite  patience  and  the  wide 
experience  needed  to  bring  east  and  west  together.  We  make  bold  to 
believe  that  the  busiest  of  busy  men  can  get  from  even  a brief  glance  at 
this  exhibit  a helpful  hint  on  the  subject  of  mankind  in  general,  and  on 
that  of  opening  the  great  door  of  trade  with  eastern  peoples. 


PREFACE 


XI 


The  newspapers  of  the  city  have  been  generous  in  the  space  they  have 
given,  on  several  occasions  in  recent  months,  to  interesting  articles  on  many 
aspects  of  the  collection  and  its  display. 

Invitations  to  the  Exhibit,  briefly  descriptive  of  it,  were  sent  in  due 
course  to  all  of  the  Museum  Association’s  3,500  members;  and  to  them  also 
were  sent  copies  of  this  pamphlet. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  Corson,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  we 
have  been  able  to  send  a special  invitation  to  all  the  teachers  and  all  the 
older  pupils  in  our  public  schools.  Like  invitations  have  been  sent  to  paro- 
chial and  private  schools,  and  to  institutions  of  learning  outside  of  Newark. 
The  invitations  and  the  pamphlet  are  sent  also  to  such  missionaries,  mis- 
sionary societies,  geographic  and  other  scientiflc  organizations  and  ex- 
plorers and  scientists  all  over  the  world,  as  we  have  thought  would  find 
them  of  interest. 

This  story  of  the  steps  taken  to  make  the  Tibet  Collection  of  immediate 
interest  and  educational  value  to  its  owners — the  citizens  of  Newark — has 
been  written  and  is  here  included,  partly  because  it  is  in  large  degree 
identical  with  the  story  of  the  efforts  toward  public  utility  which  the 
Museum  staff  has  put  forth,  in  connection  with  nearly  all  of  the  hundred 
and  twenty  exhibits  it  has  installed  and  opened  to  the  public  in  the  twelve 
years  of  the  Museum’s  existence. 

J.  C.  Dana,  Director. 

November,  1921. 


TIBET 

I.  Dr.  Shelton’s  Life  in  Outline. 

About  46  years  ago,  Albert  L.  Shelton  was  born  in  Indiana.  His 
parents  soon  moved  to  Kansas  where  he  lived  on  a farm.  He  was  brought 
up  in  the  “good  old  way.”  For  instance,  “My  father  promised  that  every 
time  we  got  a threshing  at  school  we  would  get  another  when  we  got  home. 
This  promise  he  faithfully  kept.” 

When  he  was  a lad  he  hauled  water  with  an  ox  team.  He  says,  “It  is 
not  easy,  racing  with  an  ox  team,  but  it  can  be  done.”  His  avocation  was 
the  killing  of  rattlesnakes.  In  some  weeks  he  earned  as  much,  killing 
gophers,  skunks,  jack-rabbits,  and  coyotes,  as  his  father  earned  at  car- 
pentry. 

When  he  was  17  he  began  to  teach  school  himself.  At  20  he  entered 
school  again  at  Emporia.  “When  I reached  Emporia  I had  $9.25.  That 
lasted  me  for  eight  years.”  He  carried  newspapers,  acted  as  janitor,  cut 
corn,  herded  cows,  tended  furnaces  and  tutored. 

He  enlisted  for  the  Spanish  War,  but  was  mustered  out  after  six 
months  with  $100  in  his  pocket.  “I  put  it  into  the  bank  on  Friday,  and  on 
Monday  the  bank  failed.  However,  I was  no  worse  off  than  I had  always 
been.” 

The  next  spring,  while  still  at  school,  he  took  two  days’  leave  and 
married  a girl  whom  he  had  met  in  the  Normal  School.  He  was  given  a 
scholarship  in  a Kentucky  Medical  School,  and  went,  leaving  his  wife  to 
finish  out  the  school  year. 

He  made  his  living  through  his  medical  course  also,  his  wife  making 
hers  as  a school  teacher. 

Then  he  applied  to  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society  for  work 
as  a medical  missionary,  and  their  physical  examiner  declared  him,  “the 
best  animal  I have  seen  for  a long  time.” 

He  and  his  wife  joined  Dr.  Susie  Rijnhart  and  went  to  China  when 
he  was  28  years  old.  He  was  ordained  a minister  before  leaving. 

They  went  up  the  upper  Yangtsze,  first  by  a houseboat  pulled  by  40 
coolies,  and  then  by  rafts.  They  crossed  the  mountains  to  Tatsien-lu, 
their  baggage  on  men’s  backs,  the  women  in  sedan  chairs,  and  Dr.  Shelton 
on  foot. 

There  they  learned,  first  Chinese,  then  Tibetan,  and  he  practiced 
medicine.  In  Tatsien-lu  their  daughters  Doris  and  Dorothy  were  born. 
In  the  hospital  which  they  started  those  who  were  able  paid  the  cost  of  the 
medicine  used;  the  rest  paid  fees  of  five  cents,  “whether  for  a dose  of 
salts  or  for  the  amputation  of  a leg.” 

Dr.  Shelton  and  a co-worker  decided  that  the  Main  Mission  station 
ought  to  move  westward,  so  they  prospected  over  14  mountain  passes  into 
Tibet,  to  Batang,  described  by  travelers  as  “the  dirtiest  town  in  the  world.” 
So,  with  the  consent  of  headquarters  in  America,  they  and  their  families 
made  the  journey.  They  met  there  Tibetans  on  whom  Dr.  Shelton  had 
operated,  and  who  made  them  welcome. 


2 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


The  matter-of-fact  accounts  given  in  the  books  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Shelton 
of  the  trials,  successes,  and  heroisms  of  their  lives,  are  full  of  convincing 
thrills.  They  tell  many  illuminating  anecdotes  in  that  best  of  all  literary 
styles — the  unself-conscious  directness  of  Caesar,  or  Grant. 

They  have  a hospitable,  comfortable  home.  They  have  taught  their 
Tibetan  friends  to  raise  and  eat  vegetables,  to  clean  their  houses  and  their 
persons,  to  wash  clothing.  They  have  introduced  good  breeds  of  fowls  and 
stock,  and  wholesome  ways  of  cooking.  They  have  taught  hygiene  of  body 
and  soul,  and  have  trained  the  hands  and  minds  of  the  children.  By  their 
medical  work  they  have  shown  and  have  won  the  friendship  on  which  all 
religious  teaching  and  all  international  amity  must  be  based. 

Twice  in  the  18  years  of  their  service  they  have  returned  to  America, 
bringing  objects  and  pictures  invaluable  to  the  ethnologist,  most  of  which 
have  been  acquired  by  the  Newark  Museum. 

Mrs.  Shelton  will  establish  her  daughters  in  American  schools,  and 
will  go  back  to  continue  her  translation  of  the  Bible  into  Tibetan,  and  Dr. 
Shelton  hopes  soon  to  begin  in  Lhasa,  the  once  unapproachable  city,  a hos- 
pital and  medical  school  where  he  may  prepare  young  men  from  all  parts 
of  Tibet  to  do  medical  and  surgical  work  in  their  home  regions. 

As  to  how  Chinese  robbers  kidnapped  the  doctor  in  1920,  on  his  way 
to  the  coast,  and  how  he  gained  his  freedom,  that  is  told  in  his  book,  herein 
listed.  Read  it. 

II.  Topography  and  Climate. 

Tibet  is  in  the  latitude  of  our  southern  states.  It  is  geogi’aphically 
the  Switzerland  of  Asia.  It  is  high,  central,  mountain-enclosed  and  moun- 
tain-crossed, and  has  magnificent  peaks,  glaciers,  waterfalls  and  lakes. 


1.  Tibet  is  in  the  iatitiules  of  Spain  and  Northern  Africa;  and  of  our  .soutliern 
states,  from  Philadeipliia  to  New  Orleans. 

But  while  Switzerland  prospers  because  of  boundless  hospitality,  Tibet  is 
the  Hermit  Nation,  the  last  word  in  national  aloofness.  The  Tibetan  people 
have  withdrawn  to  the  most  enormous  and  highest  mass  of  mountains  in 
the  world,  and  have  pulled  the  latch  string  in.  Yet  visitors  follow — to  get 
the  view. 

“It  was  like  sitting  in  a swallow’s  nest  under  the  eaves  of  the  Roof  of 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  CLIMATE 


O 

O 


the  World,”  says  Kipling.  “Kim  threw  his  soul  after  his  eye  across  the 
deep  blue  gulfs.”  Here  are  valleys  14,500  to  17,500  feet,  peaks  24,000  feet 
and  passes  19,000  feet  above  the  sea.  And  here  are  plains  which  show  the 
curvature  of  the  earth  as  does  the  sea,  some  desert-like,  and  some  with 
lakes,  “scattered  in  every  direction  like  fragments  of  a broken  mirror.” 
And  in  Tibet  rise  the  great  rivers  of  Asia,  the  Brahmaputra,  the  Indus,  the 
Sutlej,  the  Mekong,  and  the  great  Yellow  River  of  China. 


The  two  most  striking  things  about  Tibet  are  its  climate  and  its 
religion.  Almost  everything  peculiar  about  the  country  is  caused  by  one 
or  the  other  of  these. 

The  climate  is  due  chiefly  to  the  elevation.  Tibet  is  cold.  The  sun- 
shine is  hot  when  it  is  direct,  and  in  southern  valleys  two  good  crops  a 
year  are  raised.  In  Lhasa,  under  the  shelter  of  snow-clad  mountains, 
children  in  summer  run  about  naked,  flying  their  kites.  But  at  night  and 
in  winter,  even  in  the  south,  the  frigid  zone  is  reproduced  in  latitudes  that 
everywhere  else  are  warm  or  moderate.  When  horsemen  find  the  leg  on 
the  sunny  side  of  the  horse  too  warm  the  other  is  often  stiff  with  cold. 
“When  you  fear  your  foot  is  frost-bitten,  put  on  a plaster  of  mutton  fat 
and  slip  the  foot  into  the  smoking  paunch  of  a newly-killed  sheep.”  Guns 
cannot  be  greased  with  oil;  it  freezes.  Use  black  lead  instead.  If  you 
wind  a scarf  about  your  face  it  is  soon  a sheet  of  ice  that  cracks  when  you 
turn  your  head.  Nothing  but  fur  or  sheepskin  with  the  wool  next  the  body 
can  keep  out  the  cold.  In  October  ink  freezes  on  the  pen  before  it  can  be 
transferred  to  paper.  The  storms  of  Tibet  are  violent.  Snowstorms  in 
winter  and  hailstorms  in  summer  are  sudden  and  raging.  In  the  spring. 


4 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


herds  of  wild  asses  are  found  standing  as  they  froze  when  the  storm  caught 
them.  In  a hailstorm,  an  inch  and  a half  of  hailstones  may  fall,  of  the 
size  of  cherries.  Yet  Kim’s  Holy  One,  fleeing  the  heat  of  India,  yearned 
for  these  wild,  cold  hills:  “A  breath  from  the  snows  blows  away  20  years 
from  the  life  of  a man.”  On  the  hills  in  the  farming  regions  are  small 
monasteries  where  during  the  growing  season  live  priests  whose  sole  busi- 
ness is  to  foresee  and  prevent  hailstorms. 

Tibetans  use  horsehair  eye  shades  to  prevent  snow-blindness,  caused 
by  sunlight  on  the  snow. 

In  these  great  heights  the  air  is  so  thin  that  people  from  lower  regions 
suffer  from  nausea  and  weakness — called  “mountain  sickness.”  Every  20 
or  30  yards  they  must  sit  down  and  pant.  When  they  get  pneumonia  they 
die  of  suffocation.  Wounds,  too,  heal  slowly  for  lack  of  oxygen.  It  is 
impossible  to  calculate  distances,  the  air  is  so  thin.  The  details  of  objects 
ten  miles  away  are  as  clear  as  of  those  only  two  miles  off,  and  soldiers 
miscalculate  in  firing  because  the  air  does  not  resist  the  charge.  “What 
was  the  chief  effect  of  being  long  in  high  altitudes?”  asked  a scientist  of 
Captain  Younghusband,  who  had  just  returned  from  Tibet.  “A  desire  to 
get  to  low  altitudes,”  said  he. 

The  beauty  of  the  Tibetan  land  is,  however,  so  great  that  even  when 
suffering  physically  from  the  cold  and  lack  of  oxygen  all  travelers  rave 
over  Tibetan  scenery.  “Surely  the  gods  live  here;  this  is  no  place  for 
men.” 


3.  The  relation  of  Tibet  to  China  and  India.  Tibet  is  about  1,000  miles  from 
the  east  eoast  of  China,  in  a direet  line:  but  far  more  than  that  by  the  route  that 
must  he  followed,  up  a winding  river  and  over  mountain  ranges. 


The  greatest  width  of  Tibet  from  east  to  west  is  about  1,250  miles — as 
far  as  from  New  York  to  New  Orleans  or  Omaha;  from  north  to  south  it 


TRANSPORT  AND  TRAVEL  5 

is  two-thirds  as  much.  Its  area  is  about  one  million  square  miles,  or  ten 
times  that  of  England. 

III.  Transport  and  Travel. 

For  a European  to  make  a journey  through  Tibet  costs  from  ten  to 
twenty  thousand  dollars  and  takes  a year  or  two.  Begging  lamas  do  it 
for  less!  And  then  the  traveler  does  not  arrive  at  the  place  he  started  for. 
A caravan  of  camels,  horses,  mules,  yaks,  cows,  sheep,  men,  all  laden  with 
food,  or  clothing,  tents,  bedding  and  articles  to  trade  with  the  nomads  of 
the  Heights,  starts  out  full  of  courage.  Its  course  is  marked  with  the 
skeletons  of  its  animals,  often  with  articles  discarded  from  their  loads,  and 
sometimes  with  the  graves  of  its  members. 


4.  The  “liivins  Buddha”  and  his  wife.  Among  his  people  the  “Living  Buddha” 
is  considered  to  be  the  most  exalted  personage  of  eastern  Tibet  and  is  supposed 
to  be  a reincarnation  of  Buddha  himself.  He  has  defied  precedent  and  married. 


There  are  no  wheeled  vehicles  and  no  roads.  A highway  in  Tibet  is 
“a  collection  of  parallel  paths.”  Four  men  and  one  woman  in  the  country 
are  permitted  to  ride  in  sedan  chairs.  Everyone  else  walks  or  mounts  a 
yak,  a horse,  or  a cow  or  mule,  and  in  emergencies  the  back  of  a man.  As 
for  freight,  a sheep  can  carry  25  pounds  12  or  14  miles  a day,  resting  every 
seventh  day.  It  needs  no  grain  or  shoes.  With  a bag  of  flour  on  its  back 
it  is  a traveling  meal.  A yak  carries  150  pounds  and  feeds  as  he  goes, 
but  on  the  plains  dies — “on  the  slightest  provocation.” 

For  freight,  mountain  men  are  hardier  than  mules,  and  they  sing  and 
joke  as  they  climb  impossible  heights.  A trang  is  a path  along  the  side  of 


6 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


a cliff,  a projecting  wall  on  one  side,  a precipice  over  a rocky  stream  far 
below  on  the  other.  It  may  be  pieced  out  with  projecting  poplar  poles 
where  there  is  no  support  of  rock.  If  these  get  rotten  and  give  way,  the 
Tibetan  traveler  jumps.  To  get  down  a snow-covered  mountain  side  it 
may  be  necessary  to  throw  your  goods  down  so  as  to  make  a track  through 
the  snow  along  which  you  can  then  yourself  follow.  This  is  not  advisable 
if  many  of  your  goods  are  breakable. 

Most  bridges  are  very  primitive.  A stone  bridge  can  be  built  only 
over  a very  narrow  stream,  for  the  arch  is  unknown.  A single  poplar  pole 
on  which  the  passenger  sits  astride  and  hitches  along;  a little  plank  foot- 
bridge, one  end  resting  on  a rock  in  the  middle  of  the  stream;  a rope  from 
which  passengers  hang  by  a harness  and  are  pulled  across  by  another  rope; 
three  ropes,  one  below  to  walk  on  and  two  above  to  hold  to;  a plank  foot- 
way hanging  by  ropes  from  two  horizontal  poles:  all  these  makeshifts 
imply  that  only  brave  and  active  people  get  across  at  all.  But  one  can 
sometimes  go  by  ferry,  on  a raft  of  logs  tied  together  and  buoyed  up  by 
inflated  pig  skins,  or  in  a tub  of  yak  skin  fastened  over  a frame  of  twigs. 
The  oar  has  perhaps  a forked  blade  with  leather  stretched  between  the 
prongs  like  the  skin  on  a duck’s  foot. 

The  Chinese  established  rest  houses  on  the  chief  trade  routes,  for  there 
are  no  real  inns,  and  the  Tibetan  government  forces  the  headmen  of  vil- 
lages along  the  road  to  provide,  free  of  charge,  food,  guides,  and  trans- 
portation for  travelers  with  passports.  The  people  think  this  a great  hard- 
ship. Dr.  Susie  Rijnhart  says,  “Here  I received  ula,  which  was  a young 
girl,  who  shouldered  my  whole  load  and  walked  away  with  me.’’  Ula  may 
mean  many  horses  and  men.  A ula  stage  may  be  an  all  day  trip,  or  it  may 
mean  only  a journey  of  two  or  three  hours.  Then  the  next  headman  pro- 
vides ula,  and  so  on.  If  a European  traveler  pays  for  these  services,  his 
guides,  or  headmen,  put  the  money  into  their  pockets,  and  the  poor  folks 
who  do  the  work  get  none.  This  is  “squeeze”;  we  would  call  it  graft. 

The  Tibetans  take  their  time,  and  yours.  They  seem  incapable  of 
hurry.  Yet,  tho  travelers  must  crawl,  news  flies.  No  matter  where  you 
go  or  how  fast,  when  you  arrive  anywhere  the  people  have  heard  all  about 
you.  Government  couriers  on  foot  make  25  miles  a day.  If  they  are  late 
they  are  beaten. 

IV.  The  People. 

The  Tibetans  are  Turko-Mongols.  They  are  short,  with  black  waving 
hair,  moderately  high  cheek  bones,  rather  good  noses,  broad  shoulders, 
almost  white  complexions,  large  ears,  and  square,  flat  feet.  They  have 
little  beard,  but  much  hair.  Their  walk  is  quick  and  irregular,  and  they 
can  climb  like  goats.  They  have  an  odor  very  unpleasant  to  Europeans. 

Most  Tibetan  babies  die  in  their  first  year.  At  intervals  smallpox 
sweeps  the  country.  Cleanliness,  decent  nursing  and  the  science  of  medi- 
cine are  almost  unknown.  People  become  old  early  and  do  not  live  long. 
The  population  is  dwindling.  Those  who  live  are,  however,  hardy.  A 
Tibetan  woman  can  carry  kegs  of  water  on  her  back  up  steep  hills,  rtin 
after  the  yak,  milk  the  cows,  care  for  her  children,  load  the  mules,  go  on 


THE  PEOPLE 


7 


ula,  spin,  weave,  cook,  and,  through  it  all,  sing  and  joke.  Their  power  of 
recovery  is  wonderful.  After  receiving  wounds  which  would  kill  a white 
man,  a Tibetan  often  recovers. 

Yet  the  race  seems  to  be  degenerating.  The  English  Army  surgeons, 
who  are,  except  a few  medical  missionaries,  the  only  people  of  scientific 


as  the  bird  flies,  about  330  miles  from  Lhasa,  Tibet’s  forbidden  city;  but  the 
ilistaiice  as  one  must  travel  is  much  greater.  The  highest  mountains  in  the 
world  rise  between  tbe  two,  and  these  mountainsi  are  now  being  carefully  ex- 
plored by  a party  of  scientists  from  Kngland.  The  party  will  try  to  reach  the 
summit  of  Mt.  Everest,  the  highest  point  on  the  world’s  surface. 


knowledge  so  far  able  to  report  on  Tibetan  health,  found  many  cases  of 
goitre,  cataract,  and  hare  lip,  an  indication,  they  think,  of  race  decay. 

The  Tibetans  think  all  their  physical  ills  are  punishments  for  sins  com- 


8 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


mitted  in  their  former  lives  or  to  demons,  often  instigated  by  human 
enemies.  And  they  have  fantastic  theories  like  our  old  talk  of  “night  air” 
being  bad  for  the  delicate.  They  lay  mountain  sickness  to  the  pollen  of 
certain  flowers  or  to  poisonous  vapors  from  the  soil. 

They  may  know  of  certain  healing  herbs;  but  most  of  their  medicine 
is  magic.  Here  comes  the  Dr.  Lama,  a case  of  charms  across  his  bosom, 
a bell  at  his  back,  turning  a prayer  wheel  as  he  rides,  watching  the  path 
for  queer-looking  stones  to  grind  up  for  medicine.  He  will  tell  you  that 


G.  Pail  San  Yea«  an  old  friend  of  Dr.  Shelton  at  Batan^. 

your  blood  circulates  on  one  side  of  your  body  and  bile  on  the  other,  and 
he  will  cure  you  by  writing  a holy  word  on  paper  of  which  he  makes  a 
pellet  for  you  to  swallow,  and  by  reading  a holy  book  aloud  in  your  house. 
When  really  ill:  1.  Deceive  Death  by  offering  your  image  and  some  presents 
to  the  Lord  of  Death;  2.  Use  life-saving  charity;  save  a lot  of  lives.  For 


THE  PEOPLE 


9 


instance,  buy  several  hundred  fish  from  the  fisherman  and  put  them  back 
into  the  water.  Tibetans  are  ^eedy  for  European  medicine  such  as  castor 
oil,  mustard  plasters,  and  seidlitz  powders.  “See  the  magic  in  it;  it  boils 
in  cold  water.” 

Miss  Duncan  prescribed  for  a sore-eyed  baby.  She  washed  its  face 
and  eyes  in  the  presence  of  an  astonished  multitude  and  told  the  mother 
calmly,  “Do  this  daily  until  she  is  married.” 

Dentistry  is  more  like  ours  than  medicine.  When  you  report  to  the 
blacksmith  that  a worm  has  bored  a hole  in  your  tooth,  he  puts  a stone 
into  your  mouth  to  hold  it  open  and  pulls  the  tooth  with  pincers  intended 
for  horse-shoe  nails.  Many  Tibetans  are  toothless  at  thirty. 

Usually  the  religious  rules  of  people  are  good  for  their  health,  but  it 
is  hard  to  find  one  useful  rule  of  Lamaism.  Yet  the  lama  doctor  studies 
eight  years,  learning  volumes  of  prescriptions  by  heart. 

Tibetans  are  noted  for  good  nature.  They  are  friendly,  cheerful, 
good-tempered,  and  merciful  to  their  beasts.  “Tail  twisting  of  bullocks 
stops  at  the  Indian  border.”  They  are  kinder  to  children  and  beggars  than 
are  the  Chinese.  With  the  Tibetans,  “After  sorrow  a song.”  They  are  not 
truthful,  but  they  do  not  lie  maliciously.  “They  are  so  accustomed  to  lie 
themselves,”  says  Sven  Hedin,  “that  they  have  great  admiration  for  any 
one  who  succeeds  in  deceiving  them.”  They  rarely  keep  promises  on  time. 
“Perhaps  we  will  be  ready  in  ten  days’  time,  perhaps  in  a month,”  they 
say.  “The  blue  sky  above  only  knows.” 

They  are  probably  the  most  conservative  people  in  the  world.  “A 
thing  is  so  in  Tibet  because  it  has  always  been  so,”  says  Landon. 

There  is  every  kind  of  testimony  about  the  courage  of  the  Tibetans. 
“A  handful  of  peasants,”  says  Candler,  “will  devote  themselves  to  death 
like  the  old  Roman  patriots,  but  will  forsake  a fortified  position  at  a shot, 
and  prowl  around  a small-sized  foe  shouting,  too  timid  to  attack.” 

They  are  naturally  good  traders,  although  they  have  little  opportunity. 
Their  merchants  are  mostly  women. 

Miss  Bird,  with  no  intention  of  humor,  says,  “A  religious  atmosphere 
pervades  Tibet,  and  gives  it  a singular  sense  of  novelty.”  She  thinks  it 
wonderful  that  their  virtues  are  so  great,  considering  their  debasing 
religion.  Waddell  says  they  are  naturally  warlike  people,  softened  by 
Buddhist  teachings. 

Tibet  is  described  as  a land  of  fear.  Officials  and  people  fear  each 
other.  There  are  many  spies.  Peasants  fear  the  priests.  And  everybody 
fears  all  strangers.  But  fear  once  overcome  they  feel  warm  affection. 
Many  travelers  tell  of  parting  from  their  Tibetan  servants  mid  tears  and 
blessings.  They  seem  to  us  shockingly  humble  to  their  superiors.  They 
bow  and  scrape,  bending  double  and  sticking  out  their  tongues,  like  slaves. 
But  similarly  did  Englishmen  in  feudal  times,  as  is  shown  in  Mark  Twain’s 
Yankee  at  King  'Arthur’s  Court.  They  have  a political  shrewdness  which 
we  can  understand.  “We  put  up  with  dishonest  chiefs  because  they  often 
do  us  favors  which  are  not  just.” 


Kxpinnntion  of  thin  innp  of  Tiltet  In  on  the  opposite  paKe. 


LEGEND  FOR  MAP  OPPOSITE. 


7.  The  Map  of  Tibet  on  the  paicre  opposite  shows  the  routes  of  six  explorers  who 
approaehed  Lhasa  and  were  driven  away.  In  eaeh  case  the  O shows  where  the 
attempt  was  cheeked.  Perhaps  the  most  persistent  of  such  travelers  was  Sven 
Hedin,  the  Swede.  His  movements  back  and  forth  could  not  be  shown  clearly 
on  so  small  a map. 

The  mysterious  and  unapproachable  Lhasa  was  a place  of  great  interest  for 
many  centuries.  The  dates  of  the  expeditions  here  noted,  and  of  several  others, 
are  given  below. 

Marco  Polo,  Italian,  on  a mission  which  carried  him  through  the  western 
provinces  of  China,  traveled  through  the  wild  country  on  the  eastern  borders 
of  Tibet  in  1277.  This  is  the  earliest  recorded  visit  to  Tibet. 

A succession  of  Jesuits  and  Capuchin  friars  made  their  way  to  Lhasa  between 
1061  and  1716,  from  Austria,  Belgium,  Portugal  and  India  and  even  succeeded 
ill  founding  a mission  there. 

George  Bogle  and  Samuel  Turner,  whose  routes  are  shown  on  the  map,  in 
1774  and  1783,  were  the  first  Englishmen  to  penetrate  Tibet,  but  they  did  not 
succeed  in  reaching  Lhasa, 

Thomas  Manning,  a student  of  China  and  the  Chinese,  in  1811  undertook  to 
reach  the  interior  of  China  through  Tibet.  He  actually  reached  Lhasa,  and  re- 
maine<l  there  five  months.  He  is  said  to  be  the  only  Englishman  known  to 
have  reached  Lhasa  without  the  aid  of  an  army;  although  AVilliam  Moorcroft, 
an  Englishman,  is  reported  to  have  made  a journey  to  Tibet  in  1812  and  to 
have  lived  in  Lhasa  for  12  years,  disguised  as  a Mussulman. 

The  Abhe  Hue,  French  missionary-traveler,  reached  Lhasa  in  1846. 

The  two  most  successful  native  Indian  explorers,  sent  by  the  government  of 
India  into  Tibet  to  survey  the  country  and  collect  information  about  its  in- 
habitants, were  Pundit  N'ain  Singh  and  L'gyer  Gyatso.  They  reached  Lhasa 
twice  in  the  course  of  two  remarkable  journeys  in  1866  and  1874. 

Sarat  Chandra  Das.  a Bengali  schoolmaster  at  Darjeeling,  made  a series  of 
valuable  exploratory  journeys  from  1879  to  1881,  the  reports  of  which,  published 
by  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  contain  valuable  information  on  the  super- 
stitions, ethnology,  and  religion  of  Tibet. 

Then  followed  the  journeys  made  by  five  of  the  travelers  shown  on  the  map, 
none  of  whom  reached  his  destination: 

IV.  NV.  Rockhill,  an  American  scientific  explorer,  1888-1892. 

Captain  Hamilton  Bower,  an  English  explorer,  1891-1892. 

J.  L.  Dutreuil  de  Rhins  and  Fernand  Grenard,  two  Frenchmen,  of  whom  the 
former  was  killed  on  this  journey,  1893-1894. 

St.  George  R.  Littledale,  an  Englishman,  with  his  wife,  1895. 

Rijnhart,  a Dutch  missionary, — also  killed  on  the  journey, — with  his  wife 
who  escaped,  1898. 

Sven  Hedin,  the  Swede,  made,  in  1896,  1899-1902,  and  1906-1908,  three  ex- 
tensive journeys  through  Tibet,  never  reaching  Lhasa.  The  careful  and  detailed 
maps,  lake  soundings,  hydrographic,  geological,  meteorological  and  other  in- 
vestigations which  he  made  are  of  first  importance. 

This  list  does  not  inclnde  perhaps  a dozen  explorers  and  missionaries  who 
made  not  unimportant  expeditions  through  Tibet  in  the  last  half  of  the  19th 
century. 

The  British  armed  mission  of  1904,  which  reached  Lhasa  under  Col.  F.  E. 
Vounghusband,  was  of  the  greatest  importance  to  Great  Britain.  The  imme- 
diate reason  for  the  expedition  was  to  dispel  the  increasing  sentiment  of 
suspicion  against  the  English,  planted  in  the  minds  of  Tibetans  through  the 
Dalai  Lama  by  Russian  influence,  with  the  purpose  of  establishing  a footing  for 
Russia  in  Tibet.  After  several  hostile  encounters  an  advance  was  made  to 
Lhasa,  and  a settlement  was  reached  and  a treaty  of  peace  concluded. 

The  Mount  Everest  Expedition,  now  in  the  field,  under  an  agreement  between 
Tibetan  government  and  the  (English)  Royal  Geographical  Society  and  Alpine 
Club,  should  be  included  in  the  list. 


12 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 
V.  Religion. 

Religion  controls  the  government.  The  head  lama,  the  Dalai  Lama, 
is  an  incarnate  god.  When  he  seems  to  die  his  soul  enters  the  body  of  an 
infant,  and  only  the  great  magician  can  tell  which  infant.  He  has  seemed 
to  die  often,  for  during  his  minority  a priestly  regent  governs  for  him. 
The  present  Dalai  Lama  was  not  put  out  of  the  way  in  his  youth;  he  put 
his  regent  out  of  the  way  instead.  He  is  helped  in  governing  by  a council 
of  priests  and  of  aristocrats  who  are  descended  from  the  families  of  former 
Dalai  Lamas. 

Religion  controls  the  daily  life  of  every  Tibetan.  Call  a lama  to  bap- 
tise the  baby  or  tbe  devils  will  get  it.  A lama  must  open  the  skull  of  the 
dead  to  let  the  soul  out.  Only  a lama  can  increase  the  crop.  Borrow  money 
of  the  lamas — at  2%  a month.  The  stream  turns  a wheel,  a prayer  wheel. 
The  windmill  of  Tibet  is  a prayer  mill.  Wells,  lakes,  streams,  in  Tibet  are 
full  of  demons  who  punish  with  floods,  storms  and  famine,  every  dis- 
obedience to  the  lamas.  And  success,  here  or  hereafter,  depends  on  lamas. 
“Without  a lama  in  front  there  is  no  approach  to  God,”  says  the  Tibetan 
proverb. 

Lamaism  is  a branch  of  Buddhism,  but  is  no  more  like  the  original 
Buddhism  than  Mr.  Chadband’s  religion  was  like  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 
The  religion  of  Gotama,  the  Buddha,  which  taught  escape  from  fear  and 
death  by  the  seeking  of  truth  and  wisdom  and  the  practice  of  purity  and 
kindness,  has  been  much  spoiled  by  the  additions  to  it  of  silly  tales  and 
unholy  conduct.  Buddhism  was  introduced  into  Tibet  when  a king  of  Tibet 
married  two  Buddhist  wives  and  they  induced  him  to  impose  their  religion 
on  his  people.  The  people  accepted,  and  changed  it  by  mixing  it  with  their 
old  superstitious  devil  worship.  Buddha  forbade  falsehood;  the  lamas  de- 
ceive the  people,  for  “They  wouldn’t  understand  the  truth.”  He  forbade 
taking  life;  they  procure  the  transmigration  of  souls.  He  believed  in  the 
brotherhood  of  all  creatures,  and  taught  humility;  they  have  an  aristocracy, 
which  is  haughty  and  overbearing.  He  was  open  minded,  holding  friendly 
debates  with  any;  they  demand  unquestioning  faith.  Other  religions,  also, 
have  decayed  when  seemingly  most  successful.  And  no  doubt  there  are 
real  “Holy  Men”  among  the  lamas. 

The  one  Buddhist  belief  that  has  been  fully  retained  by  Lamaism  is 
the  doctrine  of  transmigration.  The  half  starved  dogs  of  the  Lamasery 
and  the  mice  that  eat  the  offerings  of  food  at  the  altar  were  once  lamas, 
and  are  expiating  their  sins.  “I  won’t  go  on  a pilgi’image  to  Lhasa  now,” 
said  one;  “I  am  very  prosperous  and  they  would  expect  fine  presents.  I 
think  I will  put  it  off  until  some  incarnation  when  I am  poorer!”  This 
belief  leads  to  queer  tender  streaks  in  many  Tibetans.  The  lamas  pray 
daily  for  any  tiny  life  forms  that  they  may  have  unintentionally  destroyed, 
as  in  eating,  that  they  may  be  re-born  in  Heaven.  Birds  are  not  shot  by 
Tibetans;  and  the  birds  know  it.  Birds  wild  in  India  are  tame  in  Tibet; 
but  when  they  meet  a European  there  they  become  wild  again.  A lama 
must  let  his  lice  live — even  at  his  own  expense,  although  a common  sinful 
man  may  say  to  one,  “You  bite  me;  I bite  you” — and  he  does  just  that. 


RELIGION 


13 


The  climate  triumphs  over  Buddha  when  it  comes  to  eating  mutton. 
They  make  good  by  looking  on  butchers  as  an  outcast  class,  and  excuse  that 
injustice  by  explaining,  “They  were  great  sinners  in  their  former  lives.” 


8.  Method  of  constructing  a road,  or  rather,  a mountain  trail,  along  the  Mekong 
River  south  of  Yengin.  Roads  are  never  repaired  until  they  entirely  break 
down. 


When  a Grand  Lama  is  born,  fruit  trees  blossom  before  their  time, 
animals  bear  twins  and  sick  people  who  touch  the  child  recover. 

When  you  write  to  a Grand  Lama,  address  him  thus;  “To  the  pure 
toe-nails  of  His  Holiness,  the  Victor  of  Death,  the  Granter  of  every  wish, 
the  Omniscient,  the  All  Seeing  Peerless  One,  the  Protector,  the  Friend,  the 


14 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


Patron  of  the  Angels  and  all  living  things.”  He  blesses  high  grade  visitors 
by  laying  his  hand  on  them,  and  common  folk  by  touching  them  with  a 
tassel  at  the  end  of  a wand. 


9.  Man  78  years  old  carrying  100  lbs.  of  tea  from  Yaehow  to  Tatslen-lii,  a 
distance  of  80  or  90  miles.  Sometimes  as  much  as  280  catties  (370  lbs.)  are  car- 
ried across  these  mountain  passes  by  Chinese  coolies.  Often  boys,  12  to  15 
years  old,  carry  as  much  as  75  lbs.  for  days  at  a time. 


Some  great  truths  are  taught  by  Buddhism.  For  instance,  a Bodisat 
is  a person  who  has  earned  peace;  he  need  never  again  be  re-born  and  suffer 
sorrow.  But  he  declines  his  reward.  He  is  re-born  again  and  again,  for 


RELIGION 


15 


the  sake  of  helping  others.  But,  in  Kim,  Kipling  gives  us  the  reverse  of 
the  doctrine.  “The  plains  had  treated  the  lama  as  a holy  man  among  holy 
men,  but  the  hills  worshipped  him  as  one  in  the  confidence  of  all  the  devils.” 

The  lamas  are  better  fed  and  better  educated  than  the  people.  “As  fat 
as  a lama”  is  another  Tibetan  saying.  They  are  obedient  to  their  superiors 
and  they  keep  the  peasants  submissive.  They  are  from  all  classes  of  so- 
ciety, every  family  being  represented  in  the  lamaseries.  It  is  difficult  for  a 
low  class  lama  to  rise  in  the  priesthood,  but  it  is  possible.  Outside  of  the 
priesthood  it  is  practically  impossible. 

Some  high  lamas  are  men  of  noble  character.  Hedin  says  the  Tashi 
Lama  whom  he  saw  “smiled  like  a sleeper  dreaming  of  something  beautiful.” 

The  lamas’  methods  of  money  making  are  interesting.  A tall  lama 
stands  at  the  temple  door.  A pilgrim  says,  “I  will  pay  three  tangas  for  a 
blessing.”  The  lama  sings  out  the  payment  and  the  purpose.  Then  a 
strophe  is  sung  for  that  pilgrim  and  all  the  lamas  clap  their  hands. 

Behold  a lama  on  horseback  in  a fine  silk  robe  with  a few  ostentatious 
silken  patches.  He  will  sell  you  one  indulgence  forgiving  your  last  year’s 
sins  and  another  for  those  you  mean  to  commit  next  year.  He  is  preceded 
by  a woman  burning  incense,  and  followed  by  women  bearing  presents.  As 
the  high  lama  goes  with  his  caravan  to  Lhasa  people  turn  out  to  do  him' 
reverence,  bringing  a sheep,  or  a sheep’s  stomach  full  of  goat’s  milk.  As 
the  rich  caravan  goes  to  Lhasa,  a begging  lama  joins  it,  and  is  welcome; 
he  brings  luck.  In  a cave  on  the  hillside  lives  a lama  engaged  in  “happy 
musings  on  human  misery.”  Below  are  poor  nomads  in  their  black  tents. 
When  he  hungers,  he  goes  down  with  his  bowl  and  they  fill  it.  They  would 
not  dream  of  refusing. 

Were  the  people  to  turn  upon  this  master  class,  which  is  unlikely,  the 
revolution  could  easily  be  put  down.  Every  hill-perched  lamasery  is  a 
fortress  well  provisioned,  well  armed,  and  well  mounted.  Rockhill  says, 
“When  a lamasery  turns  shawls  into  breeches,  the  weaker  party  sues  for 
peace.”  “We  fought  all  day  under  the  poplars  with  long  pen  cases,”  says 
Kim’s  lama,  “both  abbots  and  all  the  monks,  and  one  laid  open  my  forehead 
to  the  bone.”  Yes,  Gotama  would  be  astonished  at  fighting  monks  and  at 
the  golden  cooking  pots  of  the  Grand  Lama’s  palace. 

Gotama  forbade  both  self-indulgence  and  self-torment.  Many  hermits 
serve  self-infiicted  sentences  of  solitary  confinement  from  six  months  to 
life.  They  live  in  darkness,  with  no  occupation  but  meditation,  a human 
skull  for  food  bowl,  a rosary  of  human  fingerbones.  Every  few  days,  at  the 
attendant’s  knock  on  the  tomb’s  stone  shutter,  a hand  wrapped  in  cloth  is 
stretched  forth  to  take  the  meagre  food.  Then  the  shutter  closes  and  all 
again  is  dark  inside.  To  what  final  idiocy  this  must  lead  can  be  guessed 
by  readers  of  Dickens’  “Tale  of  Two  Cities.”  It  is  estimated  that  a fifth  of 
the  male  population  of  Tibet  are  lamas. 

Several  reforms  have  arisen  in  the  history  of  Lamaism.  In  the  eighth 
century  Atisa  taught  of  love  and  mercy.  In  the  14th  century  Tsong  Kaba, 
the  “Luther  of  Lamaism,”  established  the  sect  of  yellow  caps.  Red  caps 
and  Yellow  caps  are  the  two  great  lama  sects  today. 


16 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


Little  care  the  common  people  for  sects.  They  wish,  not  to  learn  God’s 
will,  but  to  impose  their  own  will  on  the  gods  by  magic  and  charms. 

Between  the  Lamaistic  and  the  Catholic — even  the  Episcopalian — 
forms  of  worship,  there  is  much  similarity.  The  Tibetans  burn  candles  or 
butter  lamps,  on  altars,  sprinkle  holy  water,  chant  hymns,  give  alms,  wear 
caps,  count  beads,  ring  bells,  swing  censers,  shave  heads,  live  in  monas- 
teries, believe  in  incarnate  gods,  and  have  souls  that  go  to  purgatory  or 
paradise. 

Some  of  the  early  Catholic  missionaries  thought  that  the  devil  had 
been  here  in  Tibet  imitating  them;  others  think  that  early  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries of  China  may  have  taught  something  of  their  services  to  the 
Tibetans.  But  the  scientist  may  explain  it  by  the  tendencies  of  all  men 
to  act  in  the  same  way  under  the  same  circumstances. 


10*  Coracles  or  skin  boats,  such  as  are  often  used  to  cross  rivers.  Over  a 
framework  of  li^ht  sticks  are  stretched  ^reen  yak  hides.  Seams  are  sealed 
with  pitch.  The  rower  puts  a broad  paddle  out  into  the  water  and  pulls  it 
towards  him  thus  drawinj^  the  boat  slow'ly  alon^. 


As,  briefly,  thus : When  my  body  lies  asleep  I go  traveling,  in  dreams. 

Hence  I know  I have  a soul.  When  I “sin,”  something  unpleasant  happens. 
Hence  I know  I am  being  punished.  Being  simple-minded,  I believe  what 
I am  told.  Hence  I believe  that  the  priests  know  how  to  relieve  me  of 
punishment, — by  offerings  to  an  offended  deity.  Hence,  gifts,  sacrifices, 
worship,  altars. 

The  outward  and  visible  signs  of  the  Tibetan  religion  are  very  out- 
ward, very  visible  and  very  numerous. 


RELIGION 


17 


Scattered  all  over  Tibet  are  chortens  of  all  sizes — empty  chortens 
dedicated  to  celestial  Buddhas  and  chortens  containing  relics,  dedicated  to 
mortal  Buddhas.  Then  there  are  manis  and  obos.  The  Tibetans  are  the 
master  wall  builders  of  the  world.  Whenever  a Tibetan  sees  two  stones 


11.  All  aqueduct  erected  to  carry  water  acro.ss  a valley  for  irrlgatiiiK  purposes. 


he  feels  impelled  to  put  one  on  top  of  the  other.  So  we  have  manis  and 
obos.  A mani  is  a wall  4 or  5 feet  high,  6 to  16  feet  wide,  a few  feet  or  a 
mile  or  more  long.  It  is  roofed  and  often  sided  with  flat  stones,  each  in- 
scribed with  holy  sayings  or  emblems,  carved,  of  course,  by  lamas.  On 
the  last  day  the  recording  angel  will  pass  through  the  land,  inspect  the 
manis  and  take,  for  proper  rewarding,  the  names  of  those  who  built  or* 
paid  for  them.  Or,  you  can  contribute  to  a mani  and  get  your  reward  now 
— a safe  journey,  or  a good  bargain,  or  a son,  or  a son-in-law.  An  obo 
is  a heap  of  stones  on  the  summit  of  a mountain  pass  raised  there  by  con- 
tributions from  all  travelers  who  there  dismount  to  give  thanks  for  a suc- 
cessful climb,  and  decorated  with  prayer  flags — made  preferably  out  of  bits 
of  the  travelers’  clothing.  Moorcroft  gave  one  leg  of  a pair  of  worn  out 
trousers  for  this  purpose. 

The  Tibetan  landscape  is  covered,  not  with  commercial  but  with  re- 
ligious advertisements.  On  the  rocky  wall  of  a valley,  ‘Om  Mani  padme 
hum”  is  seen: — “Oh  the  jewel  in  the  lotus!  Amen” — their  most  universal 
religious  ejaculation, — in  characters  a yard  high.  Some  mountain  walls 
bear  it  so  large  that  it  can  be  read  from  several  miles  away,  sometimes 
picked  out  in  white  quartz  stones,  and  on  every  mani  pile  it  is  many  times 
repeated,  cut  by  traveling  lamas  for  the  devout. 


18 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


Everybody  in  Tibet  frankly  and  interminably  prays.  Those  whose 
hands  are  busy  mutter  prayers  at  an  incredible  pace,  murmuring  like  a 
hive  of  bees  or  a purring  cat.  Those  who  must  converse  turn  prayer 
wheels.  People  approaching  a temple  kotow,  bowing  to  the  dust  at  every 
third  step.  Planks  at  the  threshold  of  temples  are  worn  into  hollows  not 
only  by  the  feet,  but  by  the  hands  and  foreheads  of  worshipers.  And  they 
pray  with  a faith  that  no  absurdity  can  disturb.  The  ridges  around  the 
Dragon  monastery  are  really  backs  of  dragons  that  protect  it.  The  pig- 
faced goddess,  though  not  at  all  pig  faced,  can  turn  herself  and  her  fol- 
lowers into  sows  when  it  serves  her  to  do  so.  Her  convent  is  called,  “The 
Soaring  Meditation.”  At  Kumbun  is  a tree  every  leaf  of  which  bears  the 
picture  of  Buddha.  If  you  can’t  see  it,  your  eyes  are  holden  by  your  in- 
fidelity. Everyone  sees  it!  Nearly  all  the  images  in  the  Jo  Kang  mon- 
astery were  “self-created”  or  miraculously  brought  through  space  and 
dropped  there.  Outside  of  every  house  are  prayer  flags;  juniper  twigs  to 
burn  (demons  cannot  abide  the  smell)  ; a nest  of  worsted  strands  set  about 
with  twigs  and  cloth  scraps,  often  crowns  the  skull  of  a dog,  with  glass 
balls  for  eyes.  This  latter  attracts  bad  spirits  from  the  house. 


V2,  These  meu  were  both  convicted  of  petty  larceny,  and  each  had  a hand  or  a 
foot  cut  off  as  i>iinishment.  They  are  now  beggars.  The  picture  illustrates  well 
the  Tibetan  head  and  face  and  the  coats  of  sheepskin,  wool  inside,  which  are 
so  much  worn. 


The  temple  music  of  Tibet  is  not  tuneful,  but  at  a distance  it  is  har- 
monious. It  is  pleasant  to  hear  families,  gathered  about  their  house  doors 
in  the  evening,  sing  their  religious  songs. 

VI.  Houses  and  Tents. 

Tibet  may  be  divided  according  to  climate  into  the  region  of  tents  and 
the  region  of  houses.  The  flock-raising  nomads  live  in  tents.  Inside  the 


HOUSES  AND  TENTS 


19 


tent  is  a long  clay  stove,  the  fire  at  one  end,  a draft  drawing  the  heat 
along  and  holes  where  several  pots  may  boil  at  once.  Within  the  town, 
even,  are  usually  some  tents.  In  Lhasa,  the  sacred  city,  are  wretched  tents 
made  of  dirty  rags  upheld  by  a few  sticks,  wherein  beggars  live. 


13.  Va.ses  for  holy  water  or  for  wine.  The  one  without  a spout  is  of  old 
Tibetan  shape,  and  has  ears  for  attaehin^  a eord  for  earryinp;.  The  other  shows 
Chinese  influenee,  whieh  introdueed  the  eonvenient  spout.  11"  liij^h.  Nos.  102- 
103  in  Catalog. 


In  warmer  regions  where  there  is  water,  houses  are  built.  A village 
may  consist  of  from  two  to  fifty  houses  made  of  sods,  of  stones  with  mud 
for  mortar,  of  adobe,  or  of  sun-dried  brick.  The  mud  house  is  made  as  are 
concrete  houses.  A roof  may  be  of  stalks  or  shingles  held  down  by  soda 
and  stones,  or  of  several  rows  of  crossed  logs,  poles,  and  twigs,  beaten  clay 
between.  Such  a roof  often  during  a storm  falls  in  upon  the  family.  There 
is  seldom  a street  in  a Tibetan  village.  Between  irregular  lines  of  houses 
are  narrow  paths  where  black  swine  wallow  in  refuse  and  dead  dogs  lie 
in  stagnant  puddles. 

Houses  are  from  one  to  three  stories  high.  Many  are  built  on  hillsides 
that  the  inhabitants  may  look  down  on  all  callers,  and  with  few  windows 
on  the  outside,  but  with  inner  courts.  They  have  no  glass,  but  bar  windows 
and  use  inside  wooden  shutters.  The  first  floor  of  a good  house  is  for 
cattle,  the  second  perhaps  for  storeroom,  the  third  for  rooms,  and  open 
sheds  may  be  built  on  the  roof. 

Many  houses  are  whitewashed  without,  often  in  stripes  which  look  from 
a distance  like  colonial  columns. 

Rooms  are  small;  stairs  are  notched  logs.  Around  the  walls  of  the 
living  room  is  a raised  platform  a few  inches  high  for  sleeping.  In  the 
middle  is  a clay  stove  the  heated  air  from  which  turns  prayer  wheels.  A 


20 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


14.  Silver  Kyiiiltol  of  authority  of  a Tilietan  Kiii^  nlto  ruled  under  the  Dalai 
Uaiiia  about  14U  yearK  aj;o.  It  probably  eoiitains  prayers,  dociiiueiits  and  charms. 
We  arc  told  that  it  is  of  great  importauee  in  religious  ccreiuoiiies.  20"  high. 
No.  24  in  Catalog. 


few  shelves,  a churn,  a stone  mortar  for  grinding  tea,  a few  pots  and  ket- 
tles, a distaff,  and  a box  for  fine  clothing  are  all  the  furniture.  Seldom  is 


HOUSES  AND  TENTS 


21 


anything  within  doors  cleaned.  Around  some  towns  are  lawns,  gardens 
and  trees,  all  well  kept  and  used  in  good  weather  for  tea  parties.  Many 
Lhasa  houses  have  in  their  windows  boxes  or  pots  of  flowering  plants  and 
caged  birds.  The  houses  of  some  of  the  rich  are  gorgeously  decorated 
within  and  lavishly  furnished.  Rugs  are  used  in  Tibet  to  drape  walls  and 
furniture  or  to  sit  on,  but  not  to  step  on. 


15.  Driiiii  ii.sed  during  religious  oereiuoiiies,  made  of  the  eromis  of  two  human 
skulls.  No.  123  in  Catalog. 

Thigh  bone  trumpet,  silver  and  brass  mounted,  made  from  a human  thigh 
bone,  and  used  in  worship.  No.  121  in  Catalog. 

Prayer  wheel,  large,  gold-plated,  used  by  priest  of  high  position.  About  a 
sixth  of  actual  size.  No.  115  in  Catalog. 


The  chief  buildings  are  lamaseries.  At  all  corners  of  a temple  are 
bells  that  ring  when  the  breeze  blows.  The  tomb  of  the  fifth  Tashi  Lama 
glitters  with  gold,  turquoise  and  coral.  Even  the  floor  of  one  tomb  is 
studded  with  turquoises.  The  Tashi  Lama’s  roof  is  supported  by  carved 
and  painted  pillars  and  the  walls  are  hung  with  silken  banners.  Yet  the 
stairs,  even  there,  are  “covered  with  the  dust  of  centuries.” 

Apparently  the  Jo  Kang,  or  cathedral,  is  the  only  clean  spot  in  Lhasa. 
“It  looked  as  though  a housemaid  had  been  around  with  a duster  an  hour 
ago,”  says  Landon. 

Tibetan  art  makes  much  use  of  the  gruesome.  Scenes  from  the  hells, 
both  hot  and  cold,  are  common  in  temples.  Frescoes  of  flayed  human 


22 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


bodies,  skulls  full  of  blood,  and  gory  heaps  of  vitals,  brains,  and  torn  out 
tongues,  all  in  vivid  colors,  ornament  their  walls.  They  remind  Landon  of 
Dante  and  14th  century  European  artists. 

Rockhill,  the  American;  Sven  Hedin,  the  Swede,  and  several  of  the 
English  military  expedition  have  described  Tibetan  vegetation  somewhat, 
and  its  beauties  have  been  sung  chiefly  in  Landon’s  book,  “The  Opening  of 
Tibet.”  In  the  north  grows  hard  wiry  grass  that  is  never  green.  Camels 
that  eat  it  are  hungry  as  before.  Yet  dwarf  blue  iris  grows  on  the  edge  of 
patches  of  snow. 

VII.  Farms  and  Domestic  Animals. 

It  is  hard  to  see  how  the  herb-eating  animals  exist.  Like  the  Alps, 
the  mountains  are  flower-decked  in  the  spring  with  gentians  and  wild  rhu- 
barb, poppies  and  carpets  of  forget-me-nots,  “blue  beyond  any  anywhere 
else.”  Wild  yellow  gooseberries  are  used  for  dyeing,  and  coming  south,  or 
down,  wild  onions  begin  the  vegetable  fare  of  man.  In  the  eastern  farms 
peaches  grow,  but  do  not  fully  ripen,  and  on  the  Kashmir  border,  apricots. 
They  have  persimmons,  crab-apples,  mulberries  and  currants.  Nettles  are 
used  for  soup,  and  mushrooms  grow  well,  as  do  mustard  and  cresses. 
Landon  found  at  13,000  feet  altitude  a flourishing  hedge  of  bamboo.  Near 
Lhasa  farm  houses  are  embowered  in  trees — walnut,  willow,  elm,  birch, 
alder.  Farther  north,  “Fuel  for  sale” — the  roots  of  thistles! 

In  the  coldest  regions,  if  the  summers  are  warm  enough  for  any  crop 
whatever,  barley  grows;  but  scantily,  for  they  cannot  fertilize,  as  the  yak- 
dung  must  be  used  for  fuel.  (They  call  this  dung  “argols.”)  Then  come 
turnips,  then  peas,  and  potatoes  of  small  size,  probably  the  progeny  of 
those  planted  everywhere  he  went  by  Bogle,  whom  Warren  Hastings  sent 
to  visit  the  Tashi  Lama  in  1774. 

Wooden,  iron  tipped  plows  pulled  by  yaks  hardly  scratch  the  soil. 
Women  chiefly  are  the  farm  hands.  The  barley  crop  is  pulled  up  by  the 
roots  and  is  threshed  on  the  ground  by  the  feet  of  ponies  or  on  the  roofs 
by  women  with  flails.  It  is  winnowed  in  wooden  hand  trays.  The  attend- 
ant lama  blesses  it  and  takes  his  share.  Chandra  Das  reports  muzzled 
cows  as  treading  out  the  grain. 

The  yak,  or  Tibetan  ox,  is  black  or  tawny,  often  with  white  forehead 
and  tail.  He  is  slow,  but  sure.  He  can  climb  like  a goat  and  pick  up  his 
living  like  a camel.  His  tongue  has  horny  barbs  which  hold  fast  the  short 
grass  which  he  only  can  eat.  He  provides  his  owner  with  textiles,  meat, 
fuel,  leather  and  transportation;  but  he  cannot  live  below  12,000  feet.  A 
cow  in  Tibet  may  be  milked  or  set  to  plowing  or  threshing  or  she  may  join 
a caravan  as  a pack  animal,  the  two  sexes  having  equal  opportunities.  Dr. 
Susie  Rijnhart  records,  “My  pony  took  his  stimulating  meal  of  warm  tea 
and  a little  meat,”  which  is  however  occasional  only,  and  not  the  usual  diet 
of  Tibetan  steeds. 

A caravan  may  consist  of  camels,  horses,  donkeys,  mules,  yaks,  cows, 
goats,  sheep,  and  even  of  zebrules. 

TheL  camel  is  little  used.  Caravans  from  the  east  start  with  them,  but 


FARMS  AND  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS  23 

arrive  at  Lhasa  without  them.  Horses,  too,  succumb  to  the  cold  of  the 
northern  plateaus;  the  trails  are  strewn  with  their  skeletons. 

“When  we  see  a wolf,”  says  Bonvalot,  “we  fasten  the  older  sheep  to- 
gether, nose  to  nose,  and  the  others  creep  in  between.  Then  the  yak  are 
fastened  by  a cord  so  that  their  heavy  bodies  make  a wall  about  the  tents. 
The  ponies  can  protect  themselves.” 

The  Tibetan  is  often  fond  of  his  domestic  animals.  He  may  overload 
a yak  but  he  does  not  beat  it. 


IG.  Ill  lamps  of  liaiidn'rought  silver  or  brass,  like  this,  plaeed  on  altars,  the 
Tibetans  burn  butter  offered  by  the  devout.  The  lamps  folloiv  conventional  de- 
sigii.s,  with  .slight  variations,  and  are  almost  always  attractive.  Unbnrnetl 
remnants  of  butter  and  -such  grain  or  food  offerings  as  the  mice  leave  are 
tossed  out  on  the  floor  when  lamps  and  other  vessels  are  re-filled;  so  that 
Tibetan  temples  have  a characteristic  odor,  agreeable  to  Tibetans  through 
sacred  associations.  Of  these  lamps  the  Museum  has  IS  solid  silver  and  3 in 
other  metals.  About  10"  high.  No.  89  in  Catalog. 


The  Tibetan  mastiff  is  untamably  fierce.  The  “holy  dogs”  at  the 
lamaseries  are  of  this  breed.  They  are  used  as  watch  dogs,  and  they  con- 
sume the  bodies  of  the  lamas  who  die.  The  commonest  Tibetan  dog  is  a 
poor  breed  of  collie.  Their  terrier  resembles  the  Skye,  and  their  spaniel 
the  Pekinese. 

Tibetan  cats  have  good  tails,  says  Waddell.  Cats  do  not  suffer  in  their 
future  lives  for  the  murders  they  commit  in  this,  since  they  pray  con- 
tinually. Hear  them  purr!  This  is  a serious  Tibetan  belief. 

Pigeons  are  common  in  Tibet  and  bees  are  kept  in  hives  much  like  those 
of  the  wild  bee. 


24 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


VIII.  Wild  Animals.  Minerals. 

The  Tibetan  antelope  bounds  along  with  an  agility  “which  we  envy  all 
the  more  as  we  cannot  go  more  than  20  yards  without  sitting  down  to 
rest.”  The  kyang,  or  wild  ass,  is  clever.  “One  of  them  will  round  up  a 
bunch  of  tame  ponies  and  drive  them  off  to  freedom  before  your  eyes.  A 
greyhound  cannot  keep  up  with  them.  They  scratch  up  the  snow  and  eat 
the  coarse  grass  below.  And  they  deploy  in  good  formation  like  cavalry.” 
At  low  elevations  in  the  southern  mountains  are  musk  deer.  From  a gland 
on  the  belly  is  obtained  the  musk  which  the  Chinese  buy  for  medicine.  Big 
red  wolves  and  big  snow-leopards  are  many.  The  lynx  is  paler  than  that  of 
Europe.  The  marmot — a lama  once — burrows  under  the  rocks  in  winter 
to  meditate  on  religious  subjects.  It  is  never  killed — much  less  eaten.  But 


17.  Haii<l\vroii!;lit  ewer  of  iron  for  holy  water  or  for  wine,  with  eopper  binding<«, 
handle  and  spout.  The  inwrought  decoration  is  of  white  and  yellow  metals. 
In  some  Tibetan  villages  good  metalwork  is  done  with  crude  tools.  15"  high. 
>o.  21M  in  Catalog. 


if  you  do  kill  one,  skin  it,  decide  which  of  your  enemies  you  wish  to  get  rid 
of,  and  blow  up  the  skin.  Your  enemy  will  swell  up  and  die. 

Even  a wolf  is  safe  near  a lamasery,  and  the  wolf  knows  it.  No  life 
may  be  taken  there,  except  a sheep’s! 


WILD  ANIMALS.  MINERALS. 


25 


Miss  Duncan  tells  of  killing  a bear.  Three-quarters  of  an  hour  after 
that  bear  had  been  walking  about  in  the  snow  nothing  was  left  of  him  but 
his  skeleton.  Vultures,  ravens,  kites  and  lammergeier  abound  and  have  a 
rank  in  Tibet  accorded  them  nowhere  else.  Brahmany  ducks  are  sacred 
because  they  wear  the  lama’s  yellow.  And  the  Tibetans  are  shocked  when 


IS.  Prayer  wheels,  around  one  of  the  temples  of  Derge.  About  five  feet  high, 
weigh  about  250  lbs.  eaeh.  Arranged  on  pivots  to  turn  easily.  The  faithful 
acquire  merit  by  going  around  and  around  this  house  turning  eaeh  wheel  as 
they  go. 


travelers  commit  the  crime  of  killing  a wild  goose  whose  mate  will  grieve 
herself  to  death  at  the  parting.  The  lamas  feed  the  pheasants  who  are 
the  “spirits  of  the  blest.”  There  are  tree  sparrows,  where  there  are  no 
trees,  skylarks,  martins,  magpies  and  partridges.  “Only  Europeans,”  say 
the  Tibetans,  “shoot  partridges.”  Hardy  birds  survive  the  cold.  Captain 


26 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


Rawlings  found  a lark’s  nest  with  fledglings  at  17,500  feet  “exposed  to  the 
full  force  of  bitter  wind  and  driving  snow.” 

Travelers  lay  chief  emphasis  on  insect  parasites,  more  abundant,  ap- 
parently, in  Tibet  than  anywhere  in  the  world.  Dr.  Susie  Rijnhart  said 


10.  Two  paj^es  from  one  of  fourteen  volumes  of  Tibetan  scriptures,  written  on 
roii^h  paper  which  has  been  prepared  by  rubbing  Chinese  ink  over  the  surface 
until  it  has  become  biack  and  taken  on  a polish.  The  lines  are  written  alter* 
nately  in  arold  and  silver.  Kor  this  the  writer  takes  lumps  of  |?old  and  silver, 
rubs  them  on  stone  until  they  are  finely  macerated,  and  mixes  them  w'ith  a 
liquid  into  an  ink.  These  volumes,  which  are  about  400  years  old,  and  were 
probably  written  in  Uias:i,  represent  the  work  of  one  man  for  perhaps  two  years 
or  more.  Such  books  are  in  the  possession  of  the  more  wealthy  people  or  of 
Isimaserles  only.  See  \o.  295.2*15  in  Catalog;. 

that  after  feeling  a woman’s  pulse  it  was  always  necessary  to  go  hunting. 
Numberless  beetles  live  under  stones  close  to  perpetual  snow.  On  a moun- 
tain top  16,500  feet  high  play  hosts  of  yellow  butterflies.  Rockbill  found 
along  tbe  river  banks  mosquitoes  “worthy  of  New  Jersey.” 

Tibet  has  much  gold.  Even  Herodotus  heard  of  mammoth  ants  in 
Tibet,  protected  by  fierce  dogs,  who  mined  it,  and  the  legend  is  not  a bad 
description  of  men  crouching  on  their  knees,  covered  by  yak  hair  blankets, 
scratching  for  gold  with  antelope  horns,  and  accompanied  by  mastiffs. 
(Tibetans  sleep  in  this  attitude  still.)  The  Tibetans  use  shovels  now,  and 
divert  mountain  streams  to  wash  their  gold.  But  they  do  not  go  below  ten 
feet,  and  they  put  back  all  nuggets,  which,  being  seed,  will  reproduce!  Tbe 
gold  is  widely  distributed,  and  veins  are  evidently  untouched.  China  has 
taxed  what  primitive  mining  there  is  almost  to  extinction. 

Salt  is  plentiful,  though  crudely  obtained.  Iron  is  plentiful,  but  little 
is  smelted,  partly  from  lack  of  fuel.  Holdich,  who  has  access  to  the  reports 


FOOD  AND  EATING 


27 


of  the  Hindu  spies  sent  into  Tibet  from  Calcutta,  lists  silver,  copper,  lead, 
mercury,  agate  and  borax  among  the  country’s  resources.  Building  stones 
are  abundant.  No  one  claims  coal  or  oil  for  Tibet.  Waddell  says  the  plains 
near  Phari,  south  of  Lhasa,  are  peat  bogs,  their  value  and  uses  unknown 
to  the  people. 

Tibetans  use  for  jewelry  turquoise  and  coral,  mostly  of  poor  quality, 
and  imported.  A few  diamonds  are  imported  from  the  north,  and  a few 
pearls  from  the  south. 

IX.  Food  and  Eating. 

As  for  food:  “The  rice  was  musty,  the  sheep’s  butter  rank,  the  goat- 
flesh  tough,  and  the  pheasant  stringy,”  says  one.  “We  had  a delicious 
repast  of  smoked  yak’s  tongue,  salted  carrots,  peppers,  barley  cakes,  and 
buttered  tea,”  says  another. 

Among  the  nomads,  meat,  raw  or  cooked,  is  eaten  every  little  while,  as 
we  eat  fruit.  And  all  Tibetans  drink  tea  as  drinking  men  used  to  drink 
alcoholic  liquors — ever  and  anon. 

Methods  of  eating  are  matters  of  etiquette.  And  Tibetans  are  sticklers 
for  etiquette.  There  is  a way  to  do  everything.  If  you  have  a thigh  bone 
with  meat  on  it,  stick  one  end  into  the  argol  fire  to  scorch;  eat  what  is 
cooked;  put  it  back  to  cook,  and  so  on.  They  have  a saying,  “You  can  tell 
how  a man  conducts  business  when  you  see  him  pick  a bone.”  A Tibetan 
plunges  his  hand  into  the  porridge,  rolls  what  he  gets  into  a ball,  and  pops 
it  into  his  mouth.  He  takes  his  cup  from  his  blouse,  fills  it  from  the  pot, 
laps  up  its  contents,  licks  it  clean,  and  returns  it  to  his  bosom.  If  your 
hands  are  greasy  after  eating,  wipe  them  on  your  face  or  boots. 

The  higher  classes  imitate  the  Chinese  at  meals,  serving  many  courses 
on  low  lacquer  tables,  and  using  silver  bowls  and  pitchers. 

Tibetans  drink  much  milk,  sweet  or  sour,  some  barley  whiskey,  and 
millions  of  gallons  of  tea.  In  the  kitchen  at  the  monastery  of  Tashi  Lunpo 
are  six  cauldrons  embedded  in  masonry.  Each  produces  about  4,000  cups 
of  tea  at  a boiling.  The  monks  are  revived  by  it  several  times  a day. 
Recipe:  For  six  persons,  boil  one  cupful  of  tea  in  three  pints  of  water  for 
ten  minutes,  with  a heaping  dessertspoonful  (the  Tibetans  know  no  such 
measure)  of  soda.  Put  it  into  a churn  with  one  pound  of  rancid  butter  and 
a scant  tablespoonful  of  salt.  Churn  to  the  thickness  of  cream.  Drink, 
when  visiting,  one-third  of  your  first  cupful.  More  is  to  be  greedy;  less  is 
to  insult  the  cook.  After  refilling,  drink  all  you  want.  Blow  back  the 
butter  scum  as  you  drink.  Pour  in  a little  tsamba — finely  pulverized 
parched  barley  flour — mix  it  with  this  butter  into  a ball.  Pop  the  ball  into 
your  mouth.  Continue  the  process.  When  you  have  finished,  empty  your 
cup  into  the  slop  bowl  provided  for  the  purpose  and  take  your  leave.  When 
entertaining,  remember  that  tallow  is  not  so  good  as  butter  in  tea.  An 
ordinary  Tibetan  eats  four  pounds  of  tsamba  daily,  and  drinks  tea  accord- 
ingly. 

The  tea  is  of  several  grades.  Most  of  it  is  sweepings  of  Chinese  tea 
farms,  stuck  together  with  sawdust  and  rice  water.  Bales  of  it,  brought 
on  coolie  backs,  have  been  coming  into  Tibet  in  increasing  quantities  for 


28 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


1,200  years.  Buttered  tea  makes  its  contribution  to  the  odor  of  all  Tibet 
— which  visitors  find  offensive. 

X.  Manners  and  Customs. 

The  commonest  way  of  using  tobacco,  also  of  course  imported,  is  as 
snuff.  It  is  poured  on  the  thumb  nail  and  snuffed,  “without  much  regard 
to  neatness.”  Pipes  also  are  used,  and  sometimes  passed  around,  as  pro- 
verbially among  American  Indians.  European  travelers  have  been  good 
advance  agents  of  the  American  cigarette,  which  is  enjoyed  by  all  Tibetans 
from  three  years  old  upward.  Opium  smoking,  learned  from  the  Chinese, 
is  common. 

The  ceremonial  manners  of  the  Tibetans  are  impressive.  “Forty  Tib- 
etans,” says  Hedin,  “when  I rode  up  thrust  out  their  bright  red  tongues.” 
They  use  many  gestures:  thumb  up,  approval;  raised  little  finger,  hostility. 
Two  Bonbo  men,  meeting,  kow-tow  thrice  and,  crouching,  touch  heads.  An 
important  stranger  approaching  a village  is  met  and  his  steed  led  to  the 
tent  where  he  is  to  stop.  If  you  pass  through  a village  the  headman 
serves  you  tea.  Even  small  boys  in  Tibet  have  perfect  Tibetan  manners. 

Almost  all  Tibetans,  however  humble,  use  visiting  cards.  These  are 
sleazy  scarfs  of  white  silk,  called  katas.  The  custom  began  many  centuries 
ago  of  giving  these  katas  on  all  occasions — when  calling,  in  letters,  to 
accompany  presents.  Presents  are  made  on  all  formal  occasions.  To  the 
traveler  they  are  welcome,  as  they  usually  consist  of  food — from  a few  eggs 
to  a sheep’s  carcass.  And  the  wise  traveler  takes  with  him  knick  knacks, 
such  as  hand-mirrors  and  pocket  knives  for  return  compliments.  It  is 
really  gracefully  disguised  barter,  without  dicker. 

In  lawsuits  it  is  etiquette  for  both  parties  to  make  presents  to  the 
judge.  Lawsuits  are,  however,  uncommon.  For  murder  the  penalty  is  a 
fine:  so  much  for  killing  a woman,  more  for  a common  man,  more  yet  for  a 
nobleman,  most  for  a lama.  The  whole  family  or  tribe  is  punished  w'hen  a 
member  is  guilty.  But  where  the  mighty  are  hasty  and  the  lowly  humble, 
why  use  the  law?  “The  milk  was  bad,  so  Aziz  Khan  poured  it  over  the 
man’s  head.”  Few  American  milkmen  w'ould  take  this  mode  of  correction 
meekly. 

A common  punishment  is  flogging.  Each  blow  is  not  heavy,  but  so 
many  blows  may  be  laid  on  as  to  strip  the  flesh  from  the  culprit’s  bones. 
The  cangue  is  a wooden  neck-piece  fitting  like  the  old  English  stocks,  but 
one  walks  around  in  it.  It  may  weigh  30  pounds,  and  is  often  w'orn  for 
months.  Thus  the  expenses  of  feeding  prisoners  are  saved — as  also  when 
arms  and  legs  are  cut  off,  or  eyes  gouged  out.  These  punishments  may 
be  imposed  for  deer-killing.  The  death  sentence  is  rarely  imposed,  and 
then  bloodshed  is  avoided.  They  sew  the  victim  up  in  a skin  and  drop  him 
into  a river.  When  capital  punishment  is  inflicted,  the  head  of  the  victim 
is  hung  up  in  some  conspicuous  spot,  as  a warning. 

Tibetan  funerals  seem  to  us  peculiar.  They  cannot  bury  in  the  frozen 
earth,  or  burn,  where  fuel  is  so  scant.  They  do  sometimes  throw  into  the 
river.  Generally  they  dismember  the  body  wdth  sharp  knives  and  feed  the 


FAMILY  LIFE 


29 


flesh  to  vultures  and  dogs.  If  consumed  quickly,  it  was  a good  man;  if 
slowly,  a bad  man;  if  not  consumed,  the  soul  went  to  hell.  This  work  is 
done  by  a despised  class  of  men  who  live  in  hovels  and  who  “must  have 
sinned  much  in  former  existences  ever  to  be  born  into  such  a class.” 

The  worst  feature  of  natural  dying  in  Tibet  is  that  when  ill  you  are 
not  allowed  to  sleep,  but  are  kept  awake,  even  with  knife  sticking,  if  neces- 
sary, by  your  solicitous  friends.  Yet  Tibetans  do  sometimes  recover.  The 
Great  Lamas  must  all  die  sitting  bolt  upright,  legs  crossed,  soles  upward. 


20.  “O,  the  Jewel  in  the  Lotus!”  Picture  of  a stone  slab  bearing  the  sacred 

Buddhist  formula  “Oni  inani  padme  hum,”  meaning,  “O,  the  Jewel  in  the  Lotus.” 
This  mystic  spell  or  religious  ejaculation  was  originally  an  invocation  of  the 
“Lord  of  Mercy,”  one  of  the  later  Buddhist  divinities;  but  early  iu  the  history 
of  Buddhism  it  was  appropriated,  together  with  other  attributes  of  tbe  “Lord 
of  Mercy,”  by  the  Dalai  Lama  or  Grand  Lama  of  Lhasa,  who  thus  strengthened 
in  the  popular  mind  the  story  of  his  divine  origin.  It  is  found  everywhere  In 
Tibet;  carved  upon  stones,  painted  in  the  sacred  Buddhist  colors  upon  houses 
and  walls,  picked  out  in  small  white  stones  upon  a green  hillside,  twirled  in 
prayer  wheeis  and  uttered  by  every  lip  throughout  all  the  Himalayan  Buddhist 
country.  By  the  repetition  of  its  sacred  syllables,  or  even  by  looking  upon  their 
written  form,  it  is  believed  that  bodily  danger  is  averted,  heli  is  barred  and 
heaven  forever,  opened  to  the  devout. 


XI.  Family  Life. 

A Tibetan  woman  may  have,  and  many  women  do  have,  several  hus- 
bands. That  is,  they  practice  polyandry.  The  eldest  son  marries — buys 
a wife — and  she  thereby  becomes  the  wife  of  all  his  brothers.  She  a 
drudge,  if  the  family  is  poor,  working  in  the  field,  carrying  water  and 
argols,  serving  on  the  ula,  driving  cattle.  But,  rich  or  poor,  she  has  a 


30 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


freedom  and  importance  enjoyed  by  few  oriental  women.  True,  she  has 
no  political  power;  neither  has  her  husband.  The  lamas  govern.  But  she 
has  economic  power.  She  controls  the  household,  which  includes  its  busi- 
ness. She  buys  and  sells,  and  no  husband  does  much  of  either  without 
asking  her  advice.  Usually  the  Tibetan  household  is  amiably  run.  Jeal- 
ousy is  rare  among  husbands,  for  the  eldest  is  legally  the  head  of  tne 
family.  Wife-beating  is  occasional.  Chinese  women  are  forbidden  to  go 
to  Tibet.  Chinese  officials  in  Tibet  marry  Tibetan  wives,  who  usually 
return  if  taken  to  China,  being  unable  to  bear  the  Chinese  restrictio-is  on 
women.  Nunneries  are  few;  they  are  permitted,  but  not  encouraged  by 
Lamaism. 

Tibetan  children  are  kindly  treated,  and  are  consequently  charming. 
They  play,  and  so  do  their  elders,  because  their  natures  are  playful.  Toys 
are  few.  Men  race,  race  horses,  wrestle,  put  the  stone,  shoot  with  the  long 
bow,  play  quoits  and  dominoes.  Dances  are  like  hornpipes.  Children  fly 
kites,  play  knuckle  bones,  or  jacks,  and  have  parties  where  they  imitate 
the  gi’own  people.  Historical  dramas,  lasting  several  days,  are  given  at 
festivals  under  canopies  in  the  open  air.  At  some  of  these  festivals  sculp- 
ture in  butter  is  shown — often  beautiful.  The  work  is  done  by  traveling 
lamas  who  compete  for  prizes. 

XII.  Trade  and  Manufacture. 

The  trade  of  Tibet  consists  largely  in  exchanging  religion  for  self- 
indulgence.  Into  the  country  come  lamaistic  pilgrims  from  all  sides  to  visit 
holy  places.  They  hire  service,  give  offerings,  and  buy  souvenirs.  So 
comes  money.  From  China  caravans  bring  tea — 20,000,000  pounds  a year 
— and  silks,  carpets,  porcelain,  red  leather  and  tobacco.  China  first,  then 
the  Tibetan  lamas  and  officials  profit  by  this  trade,  and  the  Tibetan  peas- 
ants pay  for  it  with  their  labor.  Trade  with  India  is  slight,  and  comes 
partly  through  Bhutan  and  Nepal.  The  Tibetans  collect  at  Phari  sheep’s 
wool,  fox  skins,  musk,  yak-tails,  gold,  salt,  borax,  and  goat’s  hair,  and 
receive  cotton  goods  for  butter-lamp  wicks,  mirrors,  soap,  buttons,  needles, 
spectacles,  umbrellas,  paints,  kerosene  oil,  peacock  feathers,  watches,  to- 
bacco, spices,  coral,  pearls,  even  phonographs  and  cameras.  From  Mon- 
golia come  saddles,  coral,  amber,  and  a few  small  diamonds.  A little 
sugar  comes  from  Bhutan.  Across  the  western  border,  from  Kashmir, 
come  dried  fruits. 

Barter  is  still  common.  A traveler  can  buy  almost  anything  with  a 
pair  of  boots.  Adulterated  brands  are  preferred,  if  they  are  “what  we  are 
used  to  buying.”  Good  tea  from  India  is  refused  because  it  is  not  put  up 
in  brick  form  like  the  poor  tea  from  China. 

Much  trade  within  the  country  is  conducted  through  fairs.  Caravans 
take  the  nomads’  butter,  leather,  felt,  yak-tails,  wool,  to  the  fair,  and 
return  after  weeks  with  a year’s  supply  of  tsamba,  tea,  dried  fruit,  needles, 
horseshoes,  churns  and  spindles. 

A few  factories,  mostly  in  the  south  and  east,  carry  on  special  indus- 
tries. Derge  is  famous  for  metal  work — bells,  swords,  seals,  teapots,  pen- 


TRADE  AND  MANUFACTURE 


31 


cases,  stirrups.  Near  Gyantse  are  made  fine  oriental  rugs.  About  a hun- 
dred women  do  the  work  under  strict  discipline.  They  are  whipped  when 
tardy.  At  Batang  are  made  rude  birch  wood  cups  and  pails.  Chandra 
Das  mentions  a family  of  potters.  Weaving  is  done  in  homes,  but  spinning 
is  not  even  a cottage  industry.  Men  and  women  everywhere  spin  as  they 
go.  When  not  spinning  wool,  all  Tibetans  are  spinning  prayers. 


^1.  A title  pa^e,  from  the  Kanjur,  or  Tibetan  Bible,  done  by  hand  on  hand- 
made paper.  In  this  pa^e  of  this  copy  the  ehnrneters  are  of  js;old,  ptinetnated 
with  pearls.  There  are  108  volumes  in  this  set. 

Eaeh  volume,  consisting?  of  about  *200  leaves,  wrapped  in  a cover,  is  filed  on  a 
partitioned  shelf  in  the  library  of  a lamasery.  They  are  all  read  at  a certain 
date,  annually,  when  the  upper  ^rade  lamas  meet  to  read  aloud  (not  in  chorus, 
but  all  tojEfcther),  working  twelve  hours  a flay,  with  tea-drinking  intervals, 
until  the  task  is  finished. 

To  acquire  merit,  or  to  avoid  misfortune,  or  to  be  cured  of  disease,  you  hire 
a lama  to  read  aloud  certain  volumes  at  your  house.  You  need  not  be  present; 
the  value  is  in  the  reading,  not  in  the  understanding.  18"x4%".  Xo.  295  in 
Catalog. 


Their  cloth  is  9 or  14  inches  wide  and  is  usually  made  in  strips  50  or 
60  feet  long.  They  make  variegated  stuff  for  boot  tops,  gun  cases,  garters, 
and  warm  weather  clothing,  and  tent  covers.  They  tan,  of  course,  and  sew, 
making  their  own  sheepskin  gowns. 

Paper  is  made  from  a coarse  grass,  and  books  are  hand-written  or 
printed  from  engraved  boards.  Undershot  wheels  grind  out  meal  or 
prayers  as  the  case  may  be.  The  meal  is  ground  between  two  horizontal 
stones.  It  flows  out  on  the  floor  and  is  swept  up  into  a dish. 

These  industries,  simple  as  they  are,  are  attributed  to  the  same  Chinese 
princess  who  brought  Buddhism  into  the  country. 

Although  there  are  few  factories,  work  is  done  by  groups.  “Twenty 
saddlers  went  to  work.  They  sewed  all  day  under  the  trees  in  the  garden.” 
Again,  “Twenty  tailors,  seated  in  a ring,  made  our  clothing.  They  worked 
from  morning  to  night,  stopping  every  little  while  to  drink  tea.”  These 
are  pleasanter  pictures  than  we  see  in  most  of  our  factories. 

Carpenters  use  a few  tools  for  many  purposes — they  have  the  adz, 
plane,  saw,  bradawls  and  chisels.  The  blacksmith  has  a short  one-handed 
hammer;  a two-handed  hammer;  large  shears;  a trough,  hewn  out  of  a 
tree-trunk,  containing  water  to  cool  the  iron;  for  a forge,  an  earthenware 
trough  for  heating  charcoal,  a bellows,  a stout  iron  bar  stuck  into  the 
trunk  of  a tree  for  an  anvil. 


32 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


XIII.  Art  and  Literature. 

Pictures  and  statues  made  by  Tibetan  artists  are  conventional  and  stiff, 
but  of  good  workmanship.  Articles  for  use  are  beautiful  in  shape  and 
proportion,  and  their  ornamentation  fine.  The  curator  in  the  Lahore 
museum,  as  represented  by  Kipling,  appreciated  the  lamas’  work.  “They 
are  few  who  still  have  the  secret  of  the  conventional  brush-pen  Buddhist 


*2*2,  roiistriictiii^  a house.  Poles  hold  parallel  hoards  on  each  side  of  top  of 
^vall.  Between  hoards  imid  is  packed.  Boards  are  then  raised  and  another 
layer  of  mud  put  on. 


pictures  which  are,  as  it  were,  half  written  and  half  drawn.”  Landon  says, 
“On  the  finest  of  their  temples  there  is  a microscopic  work  that  can  be  com- 
pared to  nothing  in  history  but  seventh  and  eighth  century  illuminators  of 
the  Irish  school.”  When  a Tibetan  artist  gets  away  from  the  conventional 
he  imitates  the  Chinese.  Scrolls,  somewhat  like  Japanese  kakemonas,  are 
the  most  characteristic  art  expression  of  Tibet.  They  are  chiefly  in  red 
and  gold. 

As  for  literature,  besides  the  Buddhistic  translations  they  have  folk- 


MISCELLANY  33 

tales  on  the  order  of  the  “Arabian  Nights,”  some  of  which  Mrs.  Shelton  has 
translated. 

Tibetan  music  is  not  written  on  a staff,  but  is  expressed  by  waved 
lines.  A temple  orchestra  consists  of  trumpets,  cymbals,  clarionets,  drums 
and  bells.  Tibetans  love  music.  They  sing  at  their  work,  usually  in  good 
tones,  and  they  play  very  generally  guitars,  flutes,  bagpipes,  and  jew’s 
harps.  There  is  general  testimony  that  their  speaking  voices  are  soft  and 
well  modulated. 

XIV.  Miscellany. 

The  universal  odor  in  Tibet  is  reported  by  many  to  be  of  “incense  and 
burning  butter,  frowziness  and  unwashed  humanity.” 

Socially  and  politically  Tibet  is  about  where  Europe  was  in  feudal 
times.  Estates,  serfs,  arrogance,  kindliness  and  cruelty,  courtesy,  humility. 


2.S.  Tibetan  hou.se.  The  lower  story  is  used  for  stoek,  the  second  for  hay, 
grain,  ete.;  the  third  for  dwellings;  and  the  roof  for  idol  house  and  eliapel. 


nobles,  clergy,  superstition,  fear  and  obedience,  castles  and  dungeons — they 
are  all  there.  But  no  Tennyson  will  ever  produce  an  Idyll  extolling  the 
chivalry  of  mediaeval  Tibet.  Perhaps  he  will  rather  amplify  the  tactful 
advice  of  a noble  to  his  tax  collector:  “As  eggs  are  quietly  taken  from 
under  a sitting  hen,  without  disturbing  the  nest,  so  collect  the  taxes  without 
oppressing  the  farmer.” 

Most  Tibetans  wear  their  whole  wardrobes  all  the  time,  though  the 
rich  dress  attractively  in  fine  garments  of  silk,  generally  Chinese.  Each 
has  a long  robe  of  sheepskin,  wool  inside,  or  of  dark  red  cloth,  fastened  by 
day  with  a belt  making  the  upper  part  a blouse  which  serves  as  a pocket. 


34 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


When  the  belt  comes  off  at  night  the  feet  may  be  covered  by  the  long  skirt. 
Their  legs  are  encased  in  boots.  Turquoise  and  coral  set  in  silver  are  com- 
mon. When  in  gala  dress  a man  wears  one  earring,  his  wife  two  and  many 
rings  and  jewels,  such  as  they  are.  His  hair  is  in  one  plait,  hers  in  50. 

The  Tibetan  horseman  arrives  at  a gallop,  gun  over  shoulder,  sabre  in 
belt.  His  plaited  hair  flaps  at  his  back.  He  swings  his  sling  and  shouts. 
A few  wear  iron  helmets  and  coats  of  mail,  and  cover  their  steeds  with 
armor. 


2-4.  Fart  of  the  lamasery  or  monastery,  at  Der^e.  The  building  in  the  fore- 
arroiind  is  the  Palace  of  the  Prince  of  Der^e.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  buildings 
in  all  Kastern  Tibet.  The  lamasery  will  house  3,000  people.  The  father  of  the 
present  Prince  was  15  years  completing?  the  building.  It  was  built  by  his 
subjects,  he  simply  furnishing  the  food.  Building  material  was  brought  from 
the  surrounding  mountains. 


All  Tibetans  usually  have  frankly  dirty  faces,  but  the  women  delib- 
erately daub  their  cheeks  with  black  grease.  Why?  To  prevent  chapping, 
they  say.  It  is  the  fashion. 

Although  the  Tibetans  have  a poorer  idea  of  time  than  we,  Landon 
claims  they  have  a better  idea  of  eternity,  for  they  think,  not  in  years  but 
in  lifetimes.  They  shock  their  guests  by  rising  at  three  A.  M. — and  then 
arriving  several  hours,  or  days,  late.  As  for  the  calendar — it  is  confusing, 
for  it  ignores  all  unlucky  days.  Their  measures  of  distances  are  really 
measures  of  time;  they  are  shorter  on  mountains  than  on  plains. 


MISCELLANY 


35 


Their  money  values  are  uncertain;  the  real  unit  is  an  ounce  of  silver. 
They  have  a coin,  called  the  tanka,  which  they  split.  But  for  small  change 
one  may  be  offered  barley,  salt,  walnuts  or  tea. 

There  are  scholars  in  Tibet  who  can  recite  precisely  extracts  of  such 
length  from  the  108  volumes  of  the  Kanjur  or  the  235  volumes  of  the 
Tanjur  as  would  awe  the  university  faculties  of  the  west;  but  they  think 
that  the  world  is  shaped  like  a thigh  bone  and  that  the  constellations  are 
our  guardian  angels.  The  three  great  lamaseries  in  Lhasa  are  universities. 


25.  The  lamasery,  or  monastery,  at  Peyheii.  This  shows  the  size  and  eoni- 
plexity  of  a lamasery  and  the  way  buildings  are  perched  on  a hill. 


divided,  like  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  into  colleges.  If  a student  fails  in  his 
examinations  he  is  flogged.  Moreover  he  is  deprived  of  his  allowance  of 
tsamba  and  tea.  Young  noblemen  are  day  pupils  in  these  colleges.  They 
learn  business  correspondence  and  account  keeping,  and  then  they  get  what 
we  would  call  civil  service  positions,  and  if  they  have  pull  they  rise  to  be 
high  officials. 

Waddell  thinks  one  lama  in  tw'enty  can  read.  O’Connor  says  that  in 
every  village  the  headman  and  one  or  two  members  of  each  family  can  read 
the  everyday  language  of  the  common  people  in  which  letters  are  written, 
though  not  the  language  of  scholars.  He  claims  that  that  is  a higher  per- 
centage of  literacy  than  England  had  fifty  years  ago.  Dr.  Susie  Rijnhart 


36 


THE  STORY  OF  TIBET 


in  her  diary  writes,  “Today  I saw  for  the  first  time  a Tibetan  woman  able 
to  read.” 

Missionaries  are  encamped  on  the  borders  of  Tibet.  The  Catholics 
have  established  headquarters  in  Sikhim.  The  Moravians  are  in  Kashmir. 
The  Disciples  of  Christ  are  in  force  at  Batang,  on  the  eastern  border  of  the 
Mysterious  Land.  What  for?  They  hope  to  “spread  the  glad  tidings  of 
God’s  love.”  The  people  of  Batang  are  beginning  to  make  roofs  that  do  not 


2G.  Typical  hoii.se.  The  lower  part  is  used  for  cattle  and  storage.  The  broad 
middle  section  contains  living  rooms.  On  the  roof  are  open  shed.s. 


cave  in,  to  build  stairways,  to  raise  good  poultry,  to  plant  several  kinds  of 
vegetables,  to  look  out  in  days  of  plenty  for  days  of  want,  to  feed  their 
cattle,  to  go  to  the  doctor  to  get  their  wounds  dressed,  some  of  them  to  wash 
their  faces,  a few  to  launder  their  clothes.  After  the  missionary  comes 
trade.  This  the  western  merchants  want.  Is  it  also  good  to  make  the 
Tibetan  conscious  of  his  political  and  social  wrongs,  and  hence  discon- 
tented? The  lamas  think  not.  When  the  English  military  expedition  en- 
tered Tibet  a wise  old  lama  said,  “This  means  the  breaking  of  our  bowls.” 
Though  what  the  Tibetans  believe  to  be  true  may  be  less  well  proven 
than  western  knowledge,  their  belief  is  whole-hearted  and  passes  over  into 
actions,  marked  by  sincerity. 


APPENDIX 

The  Tibetans:  Their  Home,  Their  Racial  Relationship,  Their  Exclusiveness 

A Note  by  Miss  Emma  A.  Grady,  in  Charge  of  the  Lending  Department  of 

the  Newark  Library 

A The  people  of  Tibet  are  of  Mongolic  stock.  It  is  thought  by  some 

scientists  that  the  original  home  of  the  Mongolian  race  was  the  Tibetan 
tableland,  and  that  it  is  from  this  point  that  the  yellow  race  spread  in  all 
directions,  during  the  Stone  Age,  settling  in  Central  Asia,  Mongolia,  Siberia, 
Manchuria,  Korea,  Japan,  Formosa,  China,  Indo-China;  parts  of  Irania, 
Armenia  and  Caucasia;  most  of  Asia,  Finland,  Lapland,  the  Balkan  Penin- 
sula and  Hungary;  most  of  Malaysia,  the  Philippines,  and  Madagascar. 

Extensive  migration  was  possible  in  those  remote  ages  as  the  Hima- 
layas did  not  present  such  a barrier  to  travel  as  they  now  do.  They  were 
produced  by  slow  upheaval,  and  it  is  probable  that  they  did  not  reach 
their  present  attitude  until  the  Pleistocene  Age. 

B Until  recently,  Tibet  was  little  known  to  the  Europeans.  On  account 
of  its  great  altitude,  its  climate  is  nearer  arctic  than  tropical,  so  that  there 
is  no  gradual  blending  of  the  physical  or  social  conditions  of  life  which 
would  tend  to  promote  intercourse  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbor- 
ing regions  of  Tibet  and  India.  The  mountains,  in  themselves,  are  an 
obstacle.  No  great  armies  have  ever  crossed  Tibet  to  invade  India;  even 
those  of  Jenghiz  Khan  took  the  circuitous  route  via  Bokhara  and  Afghan- 
istan, instead  of  the  direct  route  from  Mongolia  across  Tibet, 
c The  Tibetans  as  a race  are  very  clannish  and  exclusive.  Up  to  a few 
years  ago  they  knew  very  little  of  the  outside  world  and  did  not  care  to 
know  more.  Even  now  it  is  difficult  to  induce  Tibetans  to  go  abroad.  They 
are  not  used  to  a warm  climate,  and  the  change  from  their  elevated  table- 
land to  the  lowlands  of  India  or  China  is  hard  for  them  to  endure. 

® The  Britannica  writer  advances  the  idea  that  the  isolation  of  Tibet  was 
inspired  originally  by  the  Chinese,  in  order  to  create  a buffer  state  against 
European  aggression  from  this  direction.  At  any  rate,  during  the  period  of 
E Chinese  influence,  China  persistently  encouraged  the  Lamas  to  exclude 
Europeans  from  the  country,  lest  her  advantages,  either  political  or  com- 
mercial, should  suffer.  The  headman  of  every  village  in  Central  and  West- 
ern Tibet  was  held  responsible  by  the  Lhasa  Lamas  that  no  foreigner 
should  pass  through,  or  receive  shelter  in  his  village. 

F The  Tibetans  are  decidedly  a commercial  people,  and  most  of  the  offi- 
cials and  head  lamas  of  the  monasteries  are  said  to  keep  agents,  and  carry 
on  trade  on  their  own  account.  So  there  is  considerable  foundation  for 
the  opinion  that  it  may  have  been  to  protect  their  own  sources  of  reve- 
nue and  discourage  competition,  that  they  have  made  it  so  difficult  for 
foreigners.  If  this  be  true,  they  have  shown  some  knowledge  of  diplo- 
macy, by  announcing  to  the  outside  world  that  this  policy  was  due  to  orders 
from  Peking. 

Authorities  consulted  in  preparing  the  above  statement: 

A.  Keane.  AVorld’s  Peoples,  p.  18. 

B.  Encyc.  Britannica,  v.  26,  p.  932. 

C.  Missionary  Review  of  the  World.  August,  1921,  p.  608. 

D.  Encyc.  Britannica,  v.  26,  p.  927. 

E.  Waddell.  Lhasa  and  Its  Mysteries,  pp.  18,  20. 

F.  Keane.  Asia.  p.  296. 

37 


